Chasing Fire
by chameleoneye5
Summary: Miley Stewart's life is not so good lately. The only thing to make it better would be to tell her secret. Can she do it? How will everyone react?
1. Chapter 1

I don't own anything, my first fic yadda yadda, here it is :)

Look out now, baby won't you take me away,  
Sittin' here its gonna be a new day.  
Gotta sing my song and I can't go wrong,  
Gotta keep on roaming, gotta sing my song.

-Iron Maiden

Chasing Fire: Chapter 1

"Great concert tonight, bud. Why don't'cha take a few while I get the limo ready?" Miley Stewart aka Hannah Montana looked up from the couch in her dressing room at her dad and smiled weakly.

"Thanks daddy," she croaked out. The crowd in New York had been wild, and she'd done four encores. She was glad that she didn't have to go to school tomorrow, she probably wouldn't be able to move. Right now she was in a state of exhilarating euphoria, feeling relaxed and content as she always did directly after a concert. She looked up as the door opened again.

"Hey loser, heard you were in town."

"Jackson!" Miley jumped off the couch and ran to her brother, who was in college at NYU. Enveloping him in a giant hug, she took a step back to look at him- she hadn't seen him since he'd left for his second year of school. "You look the same-how's school?" Jackson grinned and motioned backwards with his head. Miley looked over his shoulder to see a pretty brunette twisting her hands together nervously.

"Hannah, this is my girlfriend, Nina. Nina, this is my friend Hannah Montana." Miley smiled politely as Nina jumped forward and grabbed her hand.

"Ohmygod, you're amazing and that was such an awesome concert and…you weren't lying when you said you knew her, Jackson! Ohmygod I'm meeting Hannah Montana! Huge Fan!" Jackson smirked at me and Miley rolled her eyes. _Still up to his old tricks, using me to impress his dates_. _Whatever_, Miley thought. She could deal because she almost never saw her brother.

"Yeah, Jackson and I basically grew up together…" Miley smirked, and added, "Too much of a spaz for me, though." Jackson glared.

"Aww…I think it's sooo cute!" Nina gushed, turning back to Jackson and grabbing his hand, and Miley raised her eyebrows. Didn't hear that one too often.

"Good for you, though, Jackson's a great guy." Miley smiled genuinely at her brother, wishing that she could just hang out with him and be herself.

"Is your voice okay?" Nina asked out of the blue.

"Oh, yeah, it happens after every concert. I get really caught up in the energy, you know?"

"Yeah, I know! I play violin with the symphony orchestra and sometimes the feeling sweeps me away…though that's not really the same thing," Nina added hurriedly.

"Hey, no. Whatever catches you, that's awesome," Miley said. Looking at her watch, she realized that her dad was probably waiting for her. "Anyway, I have a plane to catch, but maybe if I'm ever in New York again, the three of us could get lunch?"

"We'd love to, Hannah!" Nina answered quickly.

"It's a date, then! It was so nice meeting you Nina, Jackson, great to see you again." Miley grabbed him and gave him a tight hug, trying to convey how much she actually missed him.

"See ya, Miles." He whispered into his sister's ear so Nina wouldn't hear. After one last wave, they left. Miley turned and grabbed her coat and bag.

Sliding into the limo with her dad, she pushed her sunglasses on and said, "Did you meet Nina? She seemed nice."

"Sure did, bud. Jackson had her backstage during your whole show. She's some fan of yours, but I think she's good for him. Down to Earth. We got to talking during one of your breaks and turns out that she actually knew Jackson from Tennessee. Small world, eh?" Miley was surprised, but now that she thought about it, she did remember a girl by that name that used to be friends with Jackson before they moved to Malibu.

"Seems to be gettin' pretty serious, too. Never thought I'd see the day my boy'd buckle down to one lady." Miley giggled at her dad's old-fashioned southern lingo. Still smiling, she asked,

"So does Hannah have any appearances to make this week? It's Lilly's birthday and Oliver and I wanted to throw something for her." She looked at her dad, and he shook his head.

"Just that interview tomorrow night, then you're all clear till the Sunday show in Denver. I could talk to Ingrid and find out if you could use the house…" Miley hid her scrunched nose from her father. Ingrid had been dating Robbie Ray for two and a half years, and she absolutely despised Miley behind Robbie's back.

"We're planning it at Oliver's house," Miley said. Then she quickly added, "but our house can be a backup plan if you'd like to talk to her." She offered a weak smile in her dad's direction, and he smiled back at her. He was happy with Ingrid, so Miley kept up her façade because of him. She'd be going off to college soon, anyway.

They got to the airport with no troubles, boarded the plane and made it back to Malibu around three in the morning. Exhausted, Miley mumbled goodnight to her dad and collapsed in her bed, not even bothering to change

………….

"Miiiley….ooooh Miiiiiillleeey!" Miley groggily pulled her pillows over her face.

"No more buttered muffins," she mumbled. She heard a giggling and a snort and the world started to come into focus. "Go 'way, guys. 'm tired…" She rolled onto her stomach and buried her face into her mattress. Without warning, a harsh _thump_ landed on her back.

"Ooof!" she said, the wind knocked out of her. Glaring, at the wall, she sat up and threw her other pillow at the culprit, her best friend, Lilly Truscott. Groaning, she lay back down, sore all over, and closed her eyes again.

"Come on, Miles, we're going to the beach, and you're coming with us!" Lilly said.

"Unless you didn't know, I had a long concert last night, I'm sore, and it's way to early for you to be so peppy!" Miley grumbled.

"Yeah, we caught it on H-Bo," came the voice of Oliver, their other friend. "Lots of dancing, but, hey, you're the one who wanted a normal life. So a normal life you get. Besides, it's one in the afternoon, how much sleep do you need?" Miley caved and rolled towards them, noticing something.

"I didn't even change outta my Hannah clothes last night….erg…gimme a minute, I'll meet you guys downstairs." Oliver left, but Lilly stood and made her way to Miley's dresser.

"I'll help you pick out your outfit- I think Gage is going to be there!" Miley ducked as a volley of clothes were sent her way. She grabbed a blue bakini and a pair of shorts and went to the bathroom. Pulling her long brown hair into a messy ponytail, she washed her face and donned the suit and shorts. Gathering her Hannah clothes, she walked through her room, past Lilly who was debating tops, and threw them into her Hannah closet. She heard Lilly gasp behind her.

"What?" Miley whirled around to find Lilly staring at her.

"Where did you get those bruises, Miley?" Miley looked at her blankly and then her torso. She did have some bruises showing-one on her collar bone, one just to the left of her belly button, and, she whirled around, one long, nasty looking one on her back.

"Oh wow, Lilly. I forgot about these. I fell down some stairs last night between sets, my changing rooms were a floor down. Didn't even realize it was gonna bruise at the time, I was so full of adrenaline. The crowd was awesome!" Lilly frowned at her, but dropped it.

"You need to wear this, then," she said, tossing her a thigh-length white tunic. Miley pulled it on and tied it together in front. "Ready to go, clumsy?" Lilly said, smirking. Miley laughed whole-heartedly and linked her arm with Lilly's, striding out of her room with her best friend in the world. _Miley Stewart_, she thought to herself, _you are such a liar_.


	2. Chapter 2

That's no superhero standing right in front of us  
So take this pocket full of kryptonite and beat it back to Metropolis  
There's only room for one on this microphone  
In my finest hour I'm still alone

-SR-71

Chasing Fire: Chapter 2

Miley laid on her back on the warm sand, glad that it was such a beautiful day out. Oliver was lying next to her, looking out at Lilly who was surfing some nice waves. Between sets, the two were waving and smiling at each other. They'd been dating for about a year now, and Miley was really happy for them, but sometimes she missed just hanging out with them as friends.

She dug her toes into the sand at the base of her towel and briefly wondered what sort of critters were being disturbed by her feet, churned and tossed with no indication of direction or purpose. What was she going to do when she graduated? She knew she as Miley was going to college, but what about Hannah? Would she have to stop being Hannah? She'd love to do both, but at the moment that didn't seem possible. It was only October, but she'd have to decide soon what with all the college applications to fill out. Watching Jackson do all that stuff had given her a rude awakening, and she thought about her future more every day.

_Life's what you make it_, she thought. She grinned as the lyrics to one of her songs came to mind. She started to hum the song to herself.

"Miley?" She opened her eyes so see Oliver looking at her expectantly.

"Huh?" Oliver sighed, a flop of his hair briefly lifting off his forehead from the puff of air. He rolled onto his side, propping his head up with his arm.

"I asked if everything was all right. You've been really quiet since we've been here. Just because I'm not a girl doesn't mean I don't notice these things." He grinned smugly. Miley laughed.

"Yeah, I guess so," she said. "I'm just spacing out, thinking of things."

"Like…"

"Like the fact that I saw Jackson at my concert last night. He just got me thinking about school and stuff, you know." Oliver winced.

"Ugh, why bother with all that? You're one of the smartest people in our grade, you have nothing to worry about. Seriously, Miles, what a downer!" Oliver sat up and looked back out towards the water.

"What are you and Lilly going to do when senior year ends?" Miley asked.

"I dunno. Hopefully we'll end up close to each other, but why worry about that now. We've still got all year to figure things out. Just chillax about the future and live in the here and now." Oliver clapped as Lilly started over to them and stuck her board in the sand. Grinning, she plopped right down onto Oliver's lap.

"Warm me up," she demanded. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. Eventually Lilly settled herself between his legs.

"So, Miles. Wanna watch a movie tonight or do you have other plans?" Lilly asked.

"I've got a family dinner with dad and Ingrid then I've got to run to an interview, sorry. I won't be back until around eleven. Walk to school tomorrow?"

"Sure! Hey, does the wicked witch know you're Hannah yet?" Miley shook her head.

"God no, and I plan to keep it that way. I just do not like that woman…."

"Aww, come on, Miles, I think she's kinda sweet," Oliver said.

"You're only saying that because she baked you cookies last week. You and food, Oliver, I swear. You get older but your mind's still centered on one thing: your appetite."

"What? They were good cookies! And Peanut butter chocolate chip, too! My favorite!"

"Oh, what am I going to do with you, Oliver," Lilly sighed, swiveling around and taking Oliver's chin between her hands.

"Feed me lots of cookies! And cake!" Oliver quipped, and Miley and Lilly burst out laughing.

……………

"Hey, Miley." Miley lifted her head from her towel, squinting into the sun to see her boyfriend, Gage Sawyer, sitting down beside her. She could see a bunch of his basketball buddies a little ways down the beach tossing a Frisbee around.

"Hey Gage," she said, smiling as he kissed her softly.

"Missed you at the party last night," he said.

"Sorry, Ingrid was on the warpath and wouldn't let me out," Miley said. Gage looked at her skeptically.

"Miley," he said slowly. " I went past your house and no one was home." Miley's face went white and her heart sped up.

"Um…." She floundered.

"She was with me," Lilly said quickly, and Miley looked at her gratefully. She'd been seeing Gage for a few months, and she wasn't comfortable telling him her secret. She had mixed feelings about him all the time. He could be cute and sweet at times, but otherwise he was a downright jerk-picking on other kids, having this 'holier than thou' attitude. But he was there and he had basically begged her to go out with him, so there you were.

"Oh," he said. They were quiet for a minute until Lilly and Oliver decided to take a walk down the beach. Miley watched them take hands and walk away, heads leaning together.

"You want to play Frisbee with us, Miley?" Gage asked, looking into her eyes. Miley smiled.

"Hate to break it to you Gage, but I kinda stink at those type of things…" The edges of Gage's lips turned down and he fluttered his eyelashes extravagantly. "…But I guess I could give it a try, for you." Miley found herself hauled to her feet and dragged over to a game of ultimate Frisbee. Eight dropped passes later, Gage led her aside and she watched.

Gage Sawyer was the starting point guard on Seaview High's Varsity basketball team. He was tall, athletic, popular, and…that was it. He and Oliver had become good friends when they were both forced to go to outdoor adventure camp the previous summer (Lilly spent practically the whole time moping about Miley's room), and Oliver had practically shoved the two of them together. Miley wasn't complaining: Gage had certainly made quite the effort to be sweet to her, but she knew in her heart of hearts that it just wasn't meant to be.

"LOOK OUT!" Gage's voice snapped her out of her daydream. Before she could react at all, something very solid collided with her at full force. Miley went down hard, the breath knocked out of her. One of the Frisbee players hurriedly got off her as Gage ran over to her.

"Are you all right, Miley?" Lilly asked, rushing over and helping her friend off the sand.

"Great!" Miley said sarcastically, spitting out a clump of sand from her mouth. "Just perfect." She shook her hair out.

"You're bleeding!" Oliver cried. Miley swiveled her head around to her back, and just managed to catch sight of some red seeping through her tunic.

"Sweet nibblets," she said. She looked around at everyone who was gathered around her. Oliver, Lilly, Gage, and the guy that ran into her. He was shirtless, and Miley felt an unwitting blush come to her cheeks. Very toned, it should be illegal for a boy to look like that! Brown hair and…Miley's eyes widened as she recognized him.

"Jeeze, Leslie. Are you even going to apologize?"


	3. Chapter 3

After you left, you know it took me awhile  
To get myself off of the ground  
It was maybe a month before thy got me to smile  
Baby, I've never been so down

-Saving Jane

Chasing Fire: Chapter 3

"Leslie, huh?" Miley said, before Jake Ryan could say anything.

"Yeah, he just moved in across from me this week. Seemed like an okay dude, so that's what he's doing hanging with us today. But after this, I'm not sure about that…" Gage trailed off, crossing his arms and frowning deeply.

"Look, I didn't see her, okay?" 'Leslie' said. Miley looked right at him and rolled her eyes. She smirked as he realized that she recognized him. "I'm _really_ sorry." He said, looking sincere.

"Yeah, whatever. I'm going to go do work, I'll see you guys at school on Monday," Miley said, turning to grab her bag and towel and walking back up to her house.

Once inside, she dropped her belongings by the door and ran upstairs to her bathroom. Shrugging out of the tunic (and wincing as it caught in her skin), she pulled her hair up and surveyed the damage that Jake Ryan had done to her. Truthfully, it wasn't much, just a minor scratching. She was reasonably sure that he'd run into her on purpose, but she wasn't really concerned about that. What did concern her was his sudden return into her life.

Taking a washcloth out of the cabinet, she started to run it under warm water. She jumped as someone took it from her hand and spun around.

"Sorry, honey. Did I scare you?" It was Ingrid, speaking in a sickly sweet voice. Miley winced as Ingrid started to run the damp cloth over her back.

"I didn't think you were coming over until later," Miley said.

"Well your daddy wanted to meet with me earlier, so here I am…but he doesn't seem to be home right now, so it's just you and I." Ingrid paused in her rubbing. "I was in your living room when you came in. I said hi but you didn't say anything back. Is everything okay?"

"Just fine and dandy," Miley said bitterly. Ingrid suddenly gripped Miley's arm tightly.

"Don't get smart with me, little girl." She dug her nails into Miley's skin and Miley tried not to grimace. "Understand?" Miley glared at her and Ingrid squeezed harder. "I _said_, understand?" Miley nodded tightly and Ingrid released her, returning to cleaning her back as if nothing had happened. They stood in silence for a few moments, Ingrid finishing cleaning out the scrapes, and then reaching for the antiseptic.

"What happened to you, Miles?" came Robbie'svoice from the doorway. "Luanne finally getcha to try out the rodeo?" Miley whipped around to face her dad. She shrugged Ingrid's hand from her back and laughed shortly.

"Some guy ran into me while I was watching Gage play Frisbee," Robbie's eyebrows went up. "Okay, so I spaced out a little bit and he just came out of nowhere, and…" Robbie held up his hand.

"No need to explain to me, bud. Just be more careful next time, all right? You need to stay healthy." It went unspoken between them that he really meant that she needed to be in top shape in order to perform.

"Did you get the fancy wine, sugarpoo?" Ingrid interjected. Miley made a gagging face behind Ingrids back. Robbie frowned at his daughter, then smiled at Ingrid.

"Sure did, Inga. It's downstairs ready to be cooked into that wonderful future meal of ours. Miles, why don't you get dressed for dinner. I'll call you when it's ready." Miley nodded and walked past her dad and Ingrid to her room. Shutting the door, she sighed in relief. She did not like that woman. She quickly changed into a different outfit and flopped down on her bed, finally contemplating the reappearance of Jake into her life.

She hadn't seen him for two years. They'd started dating again midway through her sophomore year, and it had been the best time of her life. In the seven months they'd been together, life was perfect and she'd fallen in love. Then he'd had to go away again, filming on god knows what continent, and she'd been left behind. She'd been hurt at first, but her music had kept her so busy lately that she hadn't really had time to think about anything else. She'd released two albums in less than two years, both of which went platinum. Since Jake had left, she'd only had one free weekend to do nothing. She hadn't been able to stand the quiet.

Like now. She was getting antsy just sitting around her room. Partially to keep her hands busy (and partly because Ingrid and her dad laughing downstairs was starting to bother her), she took out one of her guitars and started to fiddle. Over the years she'd gotten quite good, and she was planning on playing her guitar and singing on her next album. Or even asking her lead guitar player to sing while she played: he wasn't half bad. Strumming a few chords, she started to sing;

As I am is how you take me  
Never try to push  
Make me different  
When I talk you listen to me  
As I am is how you want me  
I know I've found the pieces missing  
I'm looking at him

"That's a nice song, Miles. When'dja write it?" Miley looked up at her dad.

"Just something I put together a few weeks ago," she said, putting her guitar down. "Is it time for some grub?" She grinned widely.

"Sure is, Inga's been cooking up a storm for us. Let's go." Miley followed her father down the stairs and to the kitchen. Ingrid sure had cooked a lot of food for three people.

"There she is! My favorite future sister!" Miley's eyes widened as Tim, Ingrid's son, came toward her, enveloping her in a hug.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded. Tim was three years older than her and worked at an auto shop further up the coast, about an hours drive. She shrugged out of Tim's hold and looked at her dad. "What did he mean, daddy? What's going on?" She crossed her arms and frowned.

"Uh…I was hoping that we could break this to you in a different way," Robbie said, moving toward Ingrid. He held out his hand and she took it. "See, bud. Ingrid and I are getting married." Miley's arms dropped. She took a step back, shocked to the core. She knew that her dad was pretty serious with Ingrid, but she hadn't expected this! "Miles?" Her dad's voice was far away. Without saying anything, Miley turned her back on everyone and walked out the door. It was getting dark out, and as soon as her feet hit the sand she started running.

"HEY! STOP!" it was Tim. Miley sped up. She couldn't deal with this right now. She was out of sight of her house when, for the second time that day she was tackled to the ground. The difference was that Tim didn't get off her right away.

"Leave me alone!" Miley shouted, pushing him as hard as she could. 

"What's your problem with my mother? Don't you like us? Don't you want a better brother than Jackson?"

"Get off me!" Miley kicked out blindly and connected with something. Tim recoiled just enough for her to slip out from under him. She started scrambling away when a fist connected with the back of her shoulder. She went down instantly, cradling her shoulder.

"Good, now you'll…" Tim was cut off as a third person entered the fray, throwing him away from Miley.

"Stay away from Miley," a voice said, low and dangerous. Miley looked up to see a blonde-haired Jake Ryan standing between her and her future step-brother. Tim narrowed his eyes at Jake, then recognized him and blanched. He stood up and turned back towards the house, not saying anything else. Jake and Miley watched him go in silence. When he was out of sight, Jake turned to Miley and took a step toward her.

"Are you all right?" He reached out a hand but she slapped it down.

"Just stop, okay? Go away." 

"But Miley…" Her eyes flashed in the growing darkness.

"Look Jake, you lost your right to be my knight in shining armor when you left and went god knows where. You left, and I can take care of myself. Please just leave me alone." Turning away from the once love-of-her-life, she felt cold and empty. Trust Jake to show up and complicate and already impossible situation.


	4. Chapter 4

Speak to me, when all you gotta keep is strong  
Move along, move along like I know you do  
And even when your hope is gone  
Move along, move along just to make it through

-All American Rejects

Chasing Fire: Chapter 4

On her walk back to her house, Miley pulled out her Miley phone and dialed Lilly's number. After three rings, Lilly picked up.

"Hey Miley. How's your back?"

"It's fine-Ingrid actually helped me clean it out. It was really weird. But, I was wondering if Lola wanted to come with me to studio 6 for my interview? Just for moral support?"

"Of course I'll come! When are you coming to pick me up?"

"I actually out for a walk right now, how about I swing by myself and then we can go back to my house together?" There was a pause at the other end of the line. Then Lilly said,

"Sounds good to me…is everything all right, Miley?"

"I'll tell you about it in a sec. See you soon." Miley hung up and continued to Lilly's house. It wasn't that far out of the way, and Lilly's mom opened the door right away when she knocked.

"Hi Miley! Lilly's still upstairs, I'm sure she'll be down in a second so that you guys can get started on your project. You shouldn't put off work for this long, but what am I saying, come on in!" Miley smiled. Lilly's mom, despite being a little flaky and uptight, was always so nice .

"Yeah, I know, but I was busy earlier this weekend. Better late than never is what I always say."

"Hey Miley!" Lilly had come downstairs. She paused right at the bottom of the stairs as she took in Miley's appearance. Then she crossed the distance between them and linked their arms, pulling Miley out the door. "Bye mom, I'll probably stay over at the Stewarts tonight. See you in the morning!"

"Okay, bye sweetie." Lilly closed the door and turned to Miley.

"What is going on with you? You've been acting so freaky since we went to the beach today!" Miley took a deep breath.

"Well a lot has happened today."

"…like…" Lilly prompted.

"Like I just found out that my dad and Ingrid are getting married."

"Oh my God!"

"I know. I kinda freaked out on them and ran away. I just couldn't deal with that _and_ with Jake being back, you know. So that's why…"

"WHAT? What did you say about Jake? When was this, did he show up on your doorstep and profess his undying love for you? Fall out of the sky? Oh! Did you get any more life-sized cutouts, cause the one that I've got is cute, but have you _seen_ pictures of him lately?"

"Ha. No life-sized cutouts. He was the guy that ran into me at the beach earlier."

"Leslie?" Lilly said in a dubious voice. "Me and Oliver talked with him after you left, he said he moved here from Idaho, or was it Iowa? Anyway, he's got brown hair and Jake's a blond." Miley stared at her best friend.

"Wig, Lilly!" A look of comprehension came across Lilly's face, and she blushed.

"Well, how was I supposed to know?" Miley just smiled knowingly. "So Leslie is Jake?"

Miley nodded. "Wow, I bet he ran into you on purpose!"

"Ya think?" Miley said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "But what am I going to tell dad? I was all broody on Jake and he just added his whole other thing!"

"You should tell him that you're never going to like Ingrid and that he should be all yours forever and ever."

"I can't, though. He's been so happy lately. And she's not _that_ bad." _It's her son that's more the problem_, Miley thought. She shivered as she thought back to her first impression of Tim.

He was quiet at first when Ingrid had brought him over for a 'Miley-Tim bonding session,' but when Ingrid and her dad had gone out to dinner, leaving them alone, he had started to ramble about really weird things. Like how he saw an interview with a prison inmate and he'd ended up crying. He'd started to freak her out, and she'd finally said something.

He'd gone berserk and started to yell at her, she didn't even remember what he said, but eventually he'd pushed her into the kitchen counter. He'd immediately stepped back and apologized, but Miley always had to walk on eggshells with him from then on. Whenever he got worked up, he took it out on the nearest person, which was usually her. She'd been living with his verbal and physical abuse for over a year now, not saying anything because to everyone else, Tim was the poster child for Mr. Nice.

"I guess I should just tell him that it was too much information at the time. I can't tell him that I hate Ingrid, or it'll break his heart. He thinks we're best girl friends!" Miley threw a hand up in frustration.

"Well, you are leaving to go to school soon, so it won't really matter." They'd reached Miley's house by this time. Lilly gave Miley an arm squeeze and they walked in the door together. Robbie was washing dishes.

"Tim and Ingrid left," he said. Miley relaxed a little. "Oh, hey Lilly. I assume Miles has told you about our engagement?" Lilly nodded.

"I'm gonna go pick out an outfit for tonight, okay?" She left father and daughter alone. There was silence for a minute before they both started talking at once.

"Listen, Miles…"

"Dad, I'm…"

They both stopped. Miley giggled and her dad smiled.

"Go ahead, bud." He said.

"I'm sorry that I left. It isn't that I'm not happy for you, cause I am. It was just a lot to take in. Plus, I ran into Jake today at the beach and my mind was kinda caught up in that." She looked up. "Forgive me?"

"Of course I do, Miles. I should have warned you about Jake, too. His agent contacted me to see if Hannah was interested in being in the Zombie High movie. They start the filming soon, so I knew he was back in town. I told him I'd ask you and then get back to him. You don't have to decide right now, though," he said quickly, as Miley's eyes got wide. Silence reigned in the kitchen again. "So you're really okay with Ingrid and I getting hitched?" Miley walked over to her dad and hugged him.

"I'm really okay with it."


	5. Chapter 5

Don't call me up 'cause I'm not home  
My whereabouts are now unknown  
I vanished from all your joy  
I'm the disappearing boy

-Green Day

Chasing Fire: Chapter 5

"We only have time for a few more questions tonight, Ms. Montana. If you don't mind me asking, are there any new love interests for you?" Miley sighed and looked at the reporter. For a couple of years now she'd been fielding questions about her romantic life.

"I don't mind at all. At this time, I'm not currently involved with anyone. My schedule's so hectic that it would be unfair to any guy I was with-I actually admire other celebs that can juggle their professional lives and their personal ones."

"Now, I'm sure you've got you eye on someone. What about your good friend, Mike Stanley III? Rumor has it that you two are quite close!" Miley drummed her fingers on the armrest of her chair, annoyed. This was the last place she wanted to be, with everything that was going on at the moment.

"Mike's only a friend. He's actually dating my best friend Lola. They both come on tour with me a lot, and the three of us are really good friends. It's nice to have a little normalcy." Miley saw Lilly, who tonight had purple hair, give her a thumbs up from behind one of the cameras.

"Speaking of friends, we have arranged a little surprise for you." Uh oh, she didn't like the sounds of this… "Finally back from filming in South Africa, please welcome back Jake Ryan!" Jake walked out from backstage. Miley couldn't believe it; she did NOT want to have to interact with Jake at all. _He did this on purpose_, she thought, glaring at him. Someone cleared their throat, and Miley looked over to see her dad making wild gestures with his arms. Oh, yeah. She got it.

"Hey Jake!" she said, standing up to embrace him with a big smile on her face.

"Hannah! It's so great to see you again! I hope you don't mind, I called in a few favors to surprise you." He flashed her his cocky grin.

"Not at all," she practically hissed through her gritted teeth. "This is such a wonderful surprise!" Oblivious, he turned back to the reporter.

"If you don't mind I'd like to ask Hannah a question." The reporter held up her hands and motioned for him to go ahead.

"Well, as you know we're trying to put together a movie based on the Zombie High TV show. What I was wondering is if you would like to come back and play Zerronda again?" _Oh, Jake Ryan_, Miley thought, _I hate you so much_. Before she could flat out refuse, he kept talking. "See, Zerronda's episode is the most watched out of them all, and there are a lot." Miley wanted to gag at his arrogance, but she pasted a smile on her face. "So the writers were contemplating bringing her back for the big finale. And no one would be able to play her quite like you."

_Stupid Jake_, Miley thought. _He knows he's got me. I can't turn him down on live television. _She felt like screaming at the unfairness of it all.

"When do we start?" She smiled and tried to look thrilled. The reporter clapped her hands happily.

"Oh this is just fabulous! The two hottest teen celebrities working together again. What do you think, Jake, will you and Hannah finally get to finish that kiss?"

"I certainly hope so," he said, looking at Miley. She refused to look at him. If she did, the thought she may start screaming at him, live or not.

"Well, there you have it. I'd like to thank both Jake Ryan and Hannah Montana for coming here tonight, look for Hannah's new album in stores next month, and Jake's new movie, opening in the spring. Also look for Hannah and Jake to star in the movie version of Zombie High, release date unknown. Thank you both and good night everyone!"

Miley stood up quickly when the cameras stopped rolling and marched away from Jake towards Lilly and her dad.

"Come on, Hannah. It'll be fun! I love working with you, and we've missed out on so much time together because of my movie…"

"In Egypt, yeah, I remembered!" Miley whirled on him. "You've got a lot of nerve to do what you just did, Ryan…"

"No, you've got nerve!" Jake quipped. A couple of the people not-so-discretely listening in chuckled, and Jake turned to them and grinned. Miley was sending daggers in his direction, and opened her mouth to speak when Lilly beat her to it.

"Who do you think you are?! You up and LEAVE my best friend to go trotting around the globe smiling your stupid smile and forgetting all about her! She went through a lot to get over you, and then you go and pull something like this without even telling her you're back first? You're a horrible person who only hurts people who care about him! I had to make a circus of balloon animals interact to get her to smile! You're despicable!" Lilly lifted her pointer finger and shook it at him violently, then turned and left Jake standing there, looking shell-shocked.

"Thanks, Lilly," Miley said as soon as they were back in her limo. "You rocked my socks back there! Really put him in his place!" Robbie smiled as they hugged.

"Miles is lucky to have such a great friend in you, Lilly. There's only one teensie little problem with everything that just went on…" Lilly looked at Miley in confusion.

"Everyone is going to think now that Jake Ryan and Hannah Montana had a thing before he left." Lilly covered her mouth in horror. Miley laughed and hugged her again in reassurance. "Don't worry, though. It's worth it."

"Darlin', are you going to be okay, working with Jake again, I mean?" Robbie asked. Miley looked at her dad.

"I guess I'll have to be. Nothing I can really do about it now, anyway. I can handle it."

………….

When Miley and Lilly walked into school the next morning, everyone in the halls was whispering excitedly. "Did you hear Jake Ryan's back in town?" and, "Did you see the paper this morning? He actually dated Hannah Montana!" Miley groaned. Just what she needed.

"Stewart!" Miley looked up as someone called her name.

"Amber and Ashley alert," Lilly said.

"Hey Stewart, just wanted to see how you felt about Jake and Hannah Montana hooking up while he was screwing around with you?" Miley clenched her hands into fists.

"Go away, Amber," she whispered.

"Wow, nice comeback, Stewart, what's the matter? Afraid that it's true? Or maybe it is, you did mope around a lot after Jake left…."

"Yeah," Ashley piped up. "I bet she found them in bed together!" Miley took a step forward, pushing up her sleeve.

"You guys don't change," came Jake's voice from behind Miley and Lilly. "I would never cheat on Miley with _anyone_. Hannah and I are _just friends_. That rubbish in the newpaper is just that: rubbish. Anyone who thinks otherwise can come and talk to me." The crowd that had semi-gathered dispersed as he looked at them.

"I'm really really sorry, Miley," Lilly said when there were less people around. "About saying all that stuff last night, I mean. I didn't mean…"

"It's okay, I appreciated it. And you!" Miley twisted towards Jake. She took a step towards him and slapped him. "Stop coming to my rescue! I don't need you anymore!" She turned and marched in the opposite direction. The warning bell rang, and she made her way to homeroom, hoping Lilly had grabbed her things. Oliver raised his eyebrows as she sat heavily beside him, but didn't say anything. A few minutes later, Lilly came in, thankfully with Miley's bag. Miley smiled at her gratefully.

Second bell rang, and the teacher started to call roll when Jake came in, glanced uneasily at Miley, Lilly and Oliver, then sat on the opposite side of the room. The entire class immediately focused on him, and as Miley looked in the opposite direction, she finally had time to wonder why he wasn't in disguise.


	6. Chapter 6

You picked me up and we spun round and round like before  
I lost my patience but I found it on the floor  
I'm trying to be someone else today  
I'm fooling everyone but me this way

-Sugarcult

Chasing Fire: Chapter 6

Oliver was surrounded by a gaggle of people, bragging about something or other when Miley found him at lunch. She yanked him away, smiling apologetically.

"Ow! Watch the guns, Miley!" He rubbed his arm dramatically. "What's up?" Miley looked up and down the hallway.

"Did you ask if you could have some people over for Lilly's birthday?" Oliver frowned.

"Yeah, I did."

"…and?" Miley prompted.

"And my mom's having her book club meeting this Friday night at our house. Hey!" he said defensively as Miley sighed, "I tried to talk her into having it somewhere else, and she started ranting in her man voice. Not something of the good. What'd your dad say?"

"He said he'd ask Ingrid. I don't know what he sees in that woman!" Oliver's mouth opened, but Miley interrupted. "Besides the cookies and her gourmet meals! _Think_ beyond your stomach, Oliver!" Oliver shrugged his shoulders in indifference.

"Hey guys!" Gage said, walking out of classroom. He smiled at them, but caught sight of something further down the hallway and walked past them. Miley crossed her arms and looked at his retreating back.

"You wanna get some food?" Oliver said, already starting toward the cafeteria, oblivious to Miley's annoyance. Miley sighed in defeat and followed Oliver without saying anything else.

In the lunchroom, people were still staring at Miley. _Stupid rumor_, she thought, sitting down next to Lilly after getting some food. Munching on her apple and half-listening to Lilly and Oliver's conversation about the new skate park in town, she looked around casually. Typical high school lunchroom. Amber and Ashley, surrounded by only the coolest guys and girls (all were whispering with heads together, occasionally glancing at specific areas of the room and giggling. Miley saw them glance in her direction once or twice). The jocks (including Gage), ravers, wannabes, geeks, freaks, burnouts…Miley realized that she and her friends didn't really fit in anywhere. As she and Lilly headed to their next class (Literature Through the Ages), she decided that was a good-she was completely unremarkable. Perfect.

"Miley, look! Jake's in our Lit class!" Lilly looked at Miley's face to see her reaction and then amended, "Which is TOTALLY a bummer! I don't ever want to speak with him again!" Miley laughed quietly to herself. She could always count on Lilly to be there for her, even if she was a bit of a space cadet.

"Take your seats, girls!" the teacher (who insisted that they call her Michelle) said. Miley made her way to her assigned seat -she and Lilly had been forceably separated after the first day of classes because they talked too much. Today the seat next to her was occupied by Jake. _Perfect_, she thought.

"Today," Michelle wet on, "I'll be giving out assignments for our midterm readings. I've assigned partners, there's no switching. You're almost adults, learn to deal." Miley groaned, and exchanged a look with Lilly across the room. What a great start to her Jake-infested Lit class.

…………

"Ugh! I can't believe I have to work with Jake!" Lilly said as soon as class let out.

"And I have to work with Amber! Trust that the two people we least get along with we're partners with…"

"Hey, Miles. Remember when you got your picture in the paper and Amber and Ashley showed up at your house?" Miley groaned.

"Yeah, that doesn't count as getting along…" Miley tensed as someone put their arms around her from behind. She spun around with hands up, but it was only Gage. She relaxed. He raised his eyebrows in question and she smiled apologetically. "Just jumpy today's all," she said, leaning into him. As usual, he smelled great.

"Mmmm…" he said into her ear. Without warning, he pulled her into some sort of closet and closed the door quickly.

"Gage—" Miley's question was cut off as Gage pushed her back against some shelves and crashed his lips down onto hers. _Great kisser, I'll give him that_, she thought as responded, bringing her hands up to his hair. Two bells later, Miley figured that she should end this impromptu make-out session before the…a loud ringing filled the room, and Miley sprang away from Gage. The late bell! She was going to be late for class! He saw her looking for the exit and smirked.

"We're already late, Miley, why don't we just leave?" Miley blinked at him, surprised.

"Wh…huh?"

"Ditch, cut class, you know?" Gage tilted his head at her. "You've never missed a class in your life, have you?" He smirked.

"I have so!" she said indignantly. He rolled his eyes and took her by the shoulders.

"I'm not talking about when you're sick, or you've got some weird family thing…have you ever just not gone?" Miley shook her head. He went on, "well, then. This should be fun. I know the perfect place!" He opened the door and Miley smoothed down her shirt and patted her hair, extremely nervous for some reason.

"Coast is clear!" Gage said, pulling her out of the closet and down the hall, looking around the whole time. Miley could hear some lectures through partially opened doors, and suddenly felt thrill of excitement. She was cutting her class! She was a bit concerned, because neither Lilly or Oliver were in her last two classes, but as she and Gage sped away in his car, she felt her worries leave, and she smiled.

"Now that's more like it!" Gage said, rolling down his window. Miley did the same, her hair whipping all around her. With everything that was going on, this is exactly what she needed.

Gage drove them to a little diner just in the center of town, and they stole a booth in a corner. After ordering some food, Gage said, "Let's people watch!" Miley consented, and they both looked out the nearest window at the people walking by.

There were no kids, as school wasn't out for another couple of hours, but there were a surprising amount of people walking about for one thirty in the afternoon.

"Jeeze," Gage said after a few minutes. "These people need to get a life!" Miley looked at him sharply, and frowned. "I mean," he went on, "look at that one guy, he's walked by three times already!" Miley looked to where he was pointing and saw a bent over old man with a cane shuffling slowly by. Every time someone would pass by him, he'd look up and say something.

"He's probably just lonely. Maybe his wife just died or something…"

"I swear, Miley, you are the sappiest person I've ever met!" Gage said in disbelief.

"Excuse me?" Miley said.

"Well, it's like you can do no wrong- I bet what we did today was the most badass thing you've ever done! I've never even heard you swear! And now you get all weepy on the old dude! Christ!" Miley crinkled her nose.

"I was just raised this way…I don't know, I bet I could…"

"Could what? I bet you couldn't let go even one night! You're so uptight!"

"Could so!" she said as their meal arrived. She smiled at the waitress in thanks, then turned back to Gage.

"See?" he said, nodding toward the retreating waitress. "You're so damn generous, it's disgusting!"

"What's wrong with being nice to people?!" she demanded, her voice rising.

"Nothing! It's just kind of annoying that you're such a goody two shoes! Have you ever even drank? Smoked? Had sex?" Miley stared at him, face going red. "Have you ever wanted to do something completely crazy? Gone to a party?"

"I've been to parties!" she said, indignant. It was only half true, because while Hannah went to parties all the time, Miley never had been.

Gage scoffed. "Sure, why haven't I ever seen you?" Miley looked down. "Fine. Prove it. There's a party this Saturday at Becca Weller's house. Come with me." Miley sighed. Hannah had a concert

"I…" Gage held up his hand.

"Stop, I don't want to hear your excuses. It's obvious what you're going to say. Now hear this, I think we should break up." Miley looked up wildly. _What? Where did that come from?_ "We're completely different people, Miley. You're so sweet and innocent and that's nice and all, but it's also not working for me. I haven't been pushy with you because you're Oliver's friend, but this isn't going fast enough for me. Besides, we have fun together, but don't you think we're better off just as friends?" Miley was shocked, of course, but inside she was a little bit relieved that he'd been so perceptive. The only reason she'd tried so hard to make it work was for Oliver. To hear that Gage had been working just as hard was just a reaffirmation that things weren't meant to be.

"Okay, yeah. Friends?" She stuck her hand across the table. Gage grinned at her, shook her hand, then dove into his fries. Miley laughed and the rest of the meal was fine. Gage drove her home and she hopped out of his car with a smile on her face. She'd honestly had a good time since there wasn't pressure anymore to pretend that she really liked him. She skipped up her driveway and threw open the door.

"What are you doing home…" Inrid paused to checked her watch, "…thirty minutes before school lets out?" Miley looked around and saw her dad standing up from behind a pile of boxes, looking at her for an explanation. Her heart started to race, and she looked around for any ideas when something occured to her.

"Daddy, why are there so many boxes in here? And why do they have Ingrid's name on them?"

"Well, honey, we decided to move in with you to see what it'd be like afer the wedding!" Miley's jaw dropped in shock.


	7. Chapter 7

For my dreams I hold my life  
For wishes I behold my night  
The truth at the end of time  
Losing faith makes a crime

-Nightwish

Chasing Fire: Chapter 7

"Wha…huh?" Miley said stupidly. "When were you going to tell me about this?!" She demanded of her dad. Robbie opened his mouth, but Miley didn't feel like hearing his explanations and stomped up the stairs to her room. She felt like she was stomping off a lot these days. She heard her dad and Ingrid talking through her door, then a soft knock.

"Go away!" she yelled.

"Miley, sweetie. Can we talk?" It was Ingrid. Miley didn't trust herself to speak, so she didn't say anything. Hearing the door open anyway, she put a pillow over her face and ignored the sagging of the bed as her future step mom sat down. Silence reigned for a few minutes, then Ingrid started to talk. "I know that this whole week has been one thing after another with your dad and I, but I want you to know that I really care about him." Miley scoffed, threw the pillow on the floor and sat up, glaring at Ingrid.

"Yeah, right. I saw through you from the beginning. You're only after my daddy's money! You just wanted to get out of the slums and…" Miley was just getting started, but Ingrid silenced her with a slap to the face. Miley brought a hand up to her cheek to feel a trickle of blood running down.

"Now that I have your attention. I've tried to be nice, tried to act like I care about you. But the truth is, I could give a rat's ass what you do. Soon you'll be gone away and then it won't matter anymore. Good riddance is what I say. I look at you and I see a spoiled little princess. It's a shame that your father raised you as he did. I would have sent you off to school long ago." Miley looked at her with her jaw dropped. Was she really saying all these things?

"Now, Tim and I are moving into this house whether you like it or not, and just because your daddy is finally loving something other than you for a change doesn't mean that you can't grow up and deal with it." She stood up. "Now, you're grounded for skipping school and this weekend you'll be cleaning the kitchen and bathrooms. Dinner is at 7." Ingrid spun and went back downstairs. Miley was left to her thoughts, torn on what to do now that they were moving in.

…………

"But what about Lilly's birthday?!" Oliver practically yelled at her the next day at school. Grabbing some books from her locker, Miley sighed.

"I told you, Ingrid's on the warpath and dad's backing her up, well except that I'm allowed out for my concert, obviously. We can plan the party for next week and just give her our presents on Friday. That way she really won't expect it." Oliver frowned.

"I guess," he said dubiously. "I just don't think that it's _that_ big a deal, I mean, you've never cut out before…"

"If that _witch_ hadn't been around, dad wouldn't have cared. She's ruining my life!" Miley slammed the door to her locker.

"MILEY!" Lilly's voice came from down the hall. People turned and stared as Lilly ran full speed through the hallway and skidded to a halt in front of Oliver and Miley. She looked out of breath.

"What's goin on?" Miley asked, one eyebrow raised in amusement.

"Guess who was nominated for homecoming queen?!" she said, gripping Miley's forearms and practically bouncing up and down.

"Amber and Ashley?" Miley guessed. Lilly exhaled in annoyance.

"No, silly, _you!_" She grinned widely.

"Best friend, say what?" Miley said skeptically.

"Someone nominated you for homecoming queen!" Lilly said again in a rush. "Ohmygod, you _totally_ have to beat out Amber! So many people hate her, you'd actually have a chance!"

"Uh, uh," Miley said, shaking her head. "No way…who in their right mind would nominate me?"

"Miley, who cares? Why don't you go for it! You totally deserve it!"

"Totally!" Oliver piped in. Miley and Lilly both looked at him in amusement. He shook his hair back, did an about face and pretended to see someone further down the hall.

"Sometimes I wonder about him…" Miley said.

"Me too,"Lilly said. Her eyes went dreamy, and she continued, "and then he…" Miley put a finger to Lilly's lips to shush her.

"I don't need to know anything that the two of you do together!" Miley shuddered. "I mean, it's Oliver! He's like my brother!" Lilly smiled and they started to walk to class.

"Will you at least consider running?" Lilly said as they took their seats. _Darn it, thought she'd forget about that_, Miley thought.

"I don't know, Lilly…"

"Why are you always holding Miley back?" Lilly whispered as the teacher started to lecture. Miley didn't have to wonder what she was talking about. While Hannah Montana was a superstar who craved attention, Miley Stewart kept her head down and avoided everything.

"You aren't going to give up on this, are you?" Miley asked.

"Nope!" Lilly said with a smile on her face.

"All right, I'll do it…" Lilly grinned and then opened her mouth to say something else, but the teacher interrupted before she could say anything.

"Anything you girls would like to share with the class?" Miley slid down in her seat, and Lilly blushed.

"No, sir," she said. As he continued on in his lecture, Lilly turned to Miley and mouthed, _later_. Miley nodded then turned her full attention on the lecture. Integrals. Yuck.

……..

As ordered, Miley went straight home after school. Her dad was strumming on his guitar when she walked in the door.

"Hey daddy." She said, plopping down next to him. "You working on a new song?" Robbie looked up at his daughter and shuffled some papers out of the way. While Miley now wrote most of her own songs, her dad still wrote a few here and there.

"Sure am, but it's not done yet." Miley laughed.

"So, no peeking for me!" She stood. "I get it, I'll leave you to write in peace."

"Now, you hold on just a minute, bud. There's something I really need to talk to you about." He put the guitar down and patted the seat next to him. Miley sat back down.

"Sure," she said, expecting some comment about her behavior the day before. Robbie took a deep breath, then looked up from his hands into her eyes.

"I think we need to tell Ingrid about Hannah Montana."


	8. Chapter 8

Where are those secrets now  
That you're too scared to tell  
I'd whisper them all aloud   
So you can hear yourself

-Angels and Airwaves

Chasing Fire: Chapter 8

"Tell…what?" Miley said, staring at her dad.

"Just think this through, Miles. Ingrid and Tim are going to be living with us now-how are we going to keep Hannah in the closet, so to speak?"

"Dad! This is _so_ not funny!" Miley said, not believing that her dad was even bringing this up, let alone trying to joke about it.

"Well, what do you suggest then, darlin'? I'm all ears." Miley bit the bottom of her lip. She should tell him how horrid Ingrid was, how Tim was a few fries short of a happy meal, how she wasn't amenable to any part of this situation. Instead she opened her mouth and nothing came out. Robbie looked at her in concern.

"She doesn't even know that you are Robbie Ray, dad."

"I know, and that's part of the reason we'd have to tell her together. I mean, you'd have to be pretty darn slow not to take the step between Robbie Ray and Hannah Montana." Miley nodded, trying to sort her thoughts out. She sat back against the couch and stared at the blank TV screen. If either Ingrid or Tim learned her secret, she was sure that they'd use it against her. Ingrid would demand money, and Tim…she shuddered.

"Daddy, I'm just not ready for that…I…I'm sorry," she said. Robbie Ray nodded his head in understanding, drawing Miley into his embrace.

"We'll wait until you're ready, then. Just keep in mind how difficult it will be, to live with them and to keep this secret. Let me know when you are ready, and we'll all sit down together." Miley nodded into his chest.

"Thanks, daddy." She said. They let go of each other and Robbie nodded towards the stairs.

"Better go get started on your homework. I'll be down here if you need any help." Miley laughed.

"The last time you helped me we both needed a new haircut by the time we were through."

"There's that smile. I'll call you down when it's time to eat."

…………..

"Miley!" Miley opened her eyes groggily. It was still dark out. Looking at her clock, she saw that it was three in the morning. She rolled over towards the voice. "Miley!"

"Wasgoinon?" she said, groggily sitting up. She shivered as the blankets fell (it got chilly in Malibu at night!). Shrugging into a sweatshirt and sticking her feet into her slippers, she shuffled to the patio doors and pulled them open.

"I didn't think you'd come out," said a voice. Miley woke up marginally when she realized who it was. She tried to step back into her room and shut the door again when Jake stuck his foot in the way and the door jostled loudly against it. Miley winced and spun to see if any lights went on under the crack of her door. None did. "Please, Miley. Just listen to me. Please." Miley looked up at him in the moonlight and decided to hear him out. He stepped back to let her through the door and she shut it quietly behind her. She looked at him, waiting for him to speak.

"I can't stand this," he said after a minute.

"What?" she asked.

"You. I can't stand it that you're avoiding me like this!"

"You were the one that left, Jake. What did you expect me to do? _You_ left _me_."

"I didn't have a choice!" He exploded. Miley looked at him patiently. After his outburst, he started pacing. "My parents signed me onto that movie without my consent. I couldn't back out of the contract because it'd been signed already. I didn't want to leave, Miley, but I had to!" Miley was silent.

"Every day I was in Africa, I was thinking of you. I couldn't sleep at night, part of the reason it took me so long to wrap up was that I couldn't concentrate- I messed up all the time, and not just my lines. I missed you, Miley." He stopped pacing and took her hands in his, looking pleadingly into her eyes.

"Jake," she began. "I'm not going to say that I didn't miss you, because that would be a lie," she saw the hope in his eyes and went on quickly, "but all of that doesn't excuse what you did. If anyone knows about your contracts, it's me. I know their limitations and their backdoors. You didn't even call me!" She pulled away. Jake looked down.

"I didn't call at first because you were so angry when I left! Then I kept putting it off until the next day, and pretty soon it was too long since I'd heard your voice and I couldn't do it…"

"So you show up with no warning whatsoever and pray that you can…what? Woo me with your cheese ball movie-lines? Apologize for being a complete asshole? Beg me to come back to you? Then, you wake me up in the middle of the night and try and talk reason with me? I'm so far beyond reason, Jake. And I'm not going to lie and tell you I don't feel anything when I look at you. Because I did love you, I did. But every time I look at you, I can only see the guy that left me two years ago. I've changed, and you've changed. We aren't the same people."

"But…"

"Please just go away," she said, brokenly, turning away. There was silence, and then she heard Jake moving. She tensed as she felt his arms come around her.

"I won't ever go away again, Miley. I promise you that." Miley didn't need to think. After Ingrid, after Tim, after her dad and Amber and Hannah and Gage, it just felt natural to just stand there with him. She felt him smiling into her hair as he kissed the top of her head.

"Just because I caved doesn't give you the right to become a cocky ego-maniac again," she said, tuning to face him.

"No worries of that," he said, leaning down to kiss her. It was just as magical as she remembered.


	9. Chapter 9

Sometimes things we've held as true  
proved to be an outright lie  
But it seems we always knew,  
in some unspoken lullaby

-Thrice

Chasing Fire: Chapter 9

Miley searched the halls frantically for Lilly the next morning. She and Jake had stayed up all night talking, and he'd only left when her dad had yelled through the door to her room that it was time to wake up. Her dad was cool, but Miley wasn't sure how he'd feel about a boy spending the night in her room, even if they'd been just talking. He'd given her a final kiss goodbye, and even the news that Tim was moving all his things into Jackson's old room couldn't ruin her mood.

"Lilly!" she cried, seeing her best friend walking in through the entrance of the school with Oliver. Neither of them was much of a morning person, and were too slow to look up before Miley had reached them.

"What's up with you?" Lilly asked.

"Well…." Miley started.

"Hey guys," said a voice right next to her. Miley started and whirled to see not Jake, but Leslie standing beside her. Lilly's eyes widened and her jaw dropped as Miley smiled and hugged him.

"Uh…Miley? Weren't you the one who told me that Ja-?" Miley quickly put her hand over Lilly's mouth.

"Shh!!!" she said, glancing around frantically. Other than a few raised eyebrows at her strange behavior, no one noticed a thing. "No one knows!" Lilly narrowed her eyes at Jake in his Leslie garb, suspicious of her friend's sudden change of heart. Miley saw this and went on, "it's all right Lilly. He showed up at my window in the middle of last night and we talked until breakfast. We're giving it another shot." Lilly nodded and Miley finally dropped her hand from Lilly's mouth.

"So…Leslie?" Lilly said sticking out her hand. "I'm Lilly, and this is Oliver." Jake shook Lilly's hand and exchanged a head nod with Oliver. Miley was glancing around when she saw Gage come through the entrance with his arm around Becca Weller. When he saw her he stopped abruptly and looked extremely guilty. Miley smiled at him and took Jake's hand in response. He relaxed and raised his eyebrows, as if he were saying, '_really?'_. Miley nodded and he gave her thumbs up, leading Becca in the opposite direction.

"Gage's okay with us?" Jake said, looking at their retreating backs. The four of them started to walk to class.

"Sure, we decided on Monday that we weren't really that compatible. We're still friends though. So, _Leslie_, why didn't you show up your first few days of classes?" Jake sighed and Lilly and Oliver leaned in, interested.

"Well, to be honest, I was afraid of how you'd treat me." Miley looked up at him and waited for him to elaborate. "Seriously, Miley. If Leslie had come to school on Monday, how would you have treated him? How would any of you have treated him?" He looked at Lilly and she said,

"I probably would've ignored you."

"Exactly. It was already known that-" Jake looked around-"you-know-who left Miley Stewart for filming, so of course you guys would treat him badly. So until I talked with Miley, Leslie had to stay hidden." Miley nodded and disentangled herself as she reached her first class. Waving goodbye to all three of them, she entered the class, French. It hadn't met since Monday, and was one of the classes she'd missed when she was being a rebel with Gage. She wasn't really worried since she knew more French than Madame Perkins—for Hannah's European tour a couple summer's ago, she had become fluent in French and could passably converse in Italian and Spanish. She, Lola, and Stan had spent almost a month based out of Paris, where she'd had some of the best times of her life.

"Nice of you to join us today, Ms. Stewart," Madame said in French. Miley blushed and managed too look a little bit ashamed.

"Sorry," she said. Madame Perkins nodded curtly. Miley hadn't missed any assigned work, and other than Madame sending her _à la guillotine_ multiple times during class, she wasn't punished.

…….

Walking in to the lunch with Oliver (he was in Miley's History class), they discussed in low tones the plans for Lilly's birthday party the following week. Oliver's mom had given the okay for a Thursday party at their house, as she and Oliver's father would be out of town for a business engagement. It wouldn't be too big—a few of Lilly's skateboarding friends, some other friends from school that she was acquainted with, and the four of them.

Miley and Oliver entered the cafeteria to see Lilly frantically waving them over. Miley frowned as she realized that Amber and Ashley and a few of their disciples had invaded their lunch table, apparently welcoming Leslie.

"Why don't you come and sit with us at our table? We could do so much more for you than these losers," Amber was saying to Jake as Miley and Oliver reached the table. Jake made eye contact with Miley and rolled his eyes.

"Hey Amber, Ashley!" Miley said loudly, causing the two to look up at her in barely-concealed disgust. "How great of you to join us for lunch!" Ashley snorted.

"As if," she said at the same time as Amber. The looked at each other and said "Oooh, tsss!," touching their pointer fingers together.

"For your information, Stewart, we were just trying to save the new guy from all that possum that you eat." Miley glared briefly at Oliver, who shrugged his shoulders. "I mean, he was sitting here with Truscott, never knowing that his social life would be ruined if he didn't move!" Lilly glared at him.

"I think I'm good right here, thanks." Jake said. Amber blinked at him in surprise.

"But you've got real potential! Don't waste it on these lowlifes!" Jake turned to Lilly and started talking to her about surfing as if Amber hadn't spoken. Annoyed, the mean girls stood up and started walking away. Amber paused and stalked back before Miley could put her things down.

"Just so you know, Stewart. Your little attempt at being popular is pathetic. I mean, who would ever vote for the _hillbilly_ over me?" She walked away, laughing.

"I'll vote for you," offered Jake as Miley sat down. Miley smiled. Yup, Jake was back

………..

That afternoon, Miley walked in to a silent house. Her dad must be in a meeting, and who knew where Ingrid was. She fell onto the couch and flipped on the television. Indifferently, she watched a late afternoon soap. As usual, there was scandal, lots of tears, an angry man, and someone found out that they were sleeping with their own brother.

"What're you doing?" Miley spun on the coach to see that Tim was standing in the doorway to her house with a box in his arms. Evidently he was moving in today.

"Just watching TV," Miley said, turning in off. "I think I'll go up to my room now." She grabbed her bag and started walking up the stairs. She heard a thump behind her and started running. She almost made it.

Just as she reached the door to her room, Tim grabbed her from behind, picking her up by the waist. Miley screamed and kicked backwards. Tim swore and swung her into the wall. Putting her arm out to brace herself, Miley broke the frame of a picture of her dad and Jackson on a fishing trip. Her arm started to bleed, but she continued thrashing as Tim continued to smash her against the wall.

"What's going on here?" Tim dropped Miley immediately at the sound of Robbie's voice. Miley cradled her arm, picking out a piece of glass. Silence reigned in the hallway.

"You," Robbie said, pointing a finger at Tim. "Get outta my house!" Tim smiled easily, and said,

"We were just playing, Robbie, no harm…"

"I said get out!" Robbie thundered. Miley had never seen her dad so mad. Tim shot one last vicious look at Miley and stalked downstairs. They heard the door slam, and then Robbie rushed to Miley's side.

"Oh, Miles. I am so sorry. Let's get you cleaned up and then you can tell me all about it." Miley nodded and bit her lip to keep from crying.

………

That night, Miley couldn't sleep. She'd told her dad everything about Tim, and he'd confronted Ingrid about her son. They were still yelling at each other downstairs. When their voices quieted, Miley snuck to the top of the stairs and listened in.

"You can't seriously want me to allow that rabble-rouser to live in our house!"

"He's my _son_, and it's not like you have much of a choice." Robbie was quiet for a minute, so Ingrid went on. "It's like this, _sweetheart_, you don't keep giving us money, you punish my darling boy in any way, and you know what'll happen." Robbie swore quietly. "That's right, you're shit outta luck. You do_ anything_, and I will tell the world that Miley Stewart is really Hannah Montana." At the top of the stairs, Miley's jaw dropped.


	10. Chapter 10

Hear me calling on the wind  
Can't you feel the change begins  
Hearts of truth will freedom bring  
I'm calling on the wind

-Gamma Ray

Chasing Fire: Chapter 10

Miley was halfway to school the next morning when she decided that she and her dad needed to talk. If Ingrid already knew about Hannah Montana, why had her dad suggested that they tell her? Ingrid had left for a spa as Miley was leaving for school (she of course didn't offer a ride), and Tim hadn't come back to the house last night, so Miley turned around and headed home for the most important heart to heart of her life.

"What'dja forget, Ingrid?" came her dad's voice as she walked in the door. Without answering, Miley walked to her dad's room at opened the door. Robbie Ray was on top of his bed flipping through the morning paper. He put it down in his lap when Miley walked in.

"Miles? Why aren't you at school? What's wrong?" Looking at her feet, Miley couldn't look at him. Robbie sighed.

"Bud, you know how important you education is, and you've already missed some school this week."

"I need…" Miley trailed off and took a deep breath. Meeting her father's eyes, she said, "I heard you talking with Ingrid last night. I know what she's doing." Robbie looked shocked, then without saying anything, he grabbed the phone and called the school to tell them that Miley was sick today, and motioned for her to join him on the bed.

"How much did you hear, bud?" He asked as she snuggled up on his side.

"Pretty much everything. Why didn't you tell me, dad? And what was with that whole conversation we had about telling Ingrid if she already knew?"

"I guess I figured that it was better if you knew what a danger she was. I was just trying to protect you. As for your other question, I wanted to know how you'd react to Ingrid knowing about us. Then when I caught that miscreant…." Robbie trailed off, and Miley felt him tense. She gave him a squeeze of reassurance. "Boy, I saw red. Why didn't you tell me before then?" Miley looked up at him.

"You seemed really happy with Ingrid, I didn't want to ruin anything." Robbie chuckled.

"I only pretended to be happy for your sake. Wouldn't you've become suspicious if I had acted otherwise?" Miley smiled faintly.

"So we're both pretty miserable then, huh?" Robbie chuckled.

"I guess that makes us both pretty foolish." Father and daughter were silent for a while, both lost in their own thoughts.

"So what are we going to do?" Miley asked after a while.

"I guess that's up to you, Miles. The way I see it, we've got four options. One, we go on pretending that we're all fine. Two, we tell Ingrid to stuff it and she tells everyone that you're Hannah Montana. Three, we tell everyone you're Hannah Montana."

"What's the fourth option?" Miley asked, looking at him curiously.

"Hannah hires a hit man to take out that evil woman and her devil spawn." Miley giggled.

"I think I like that one the best." Her dad gave her a big hug and rested his chin on the top of her head.

"How's your arm feel?" he asked after a little bit. Miley grimaced and held it up for him to see.

"It's fine, you did a good job wrapping it up. I mean, it doesn't really hurt that much, it was more the shock of it you know?" Robbie nodded, then swung his legs over the side of the bed.

"Why don't we go downstairs, I'll cook us some flapjacks!"

As her dad was mixing up the batter, Miley sat at the bar and thought about the options her dad had given her. The only thing that was clear was that neither of them could do this anymore. How long would it be before Tim _really _hurt her? And Ingrid? Her dad _definitely_ needed out! The only thing that could fix everything was to have Hannah reveal herself as Miley.

"Tough choice, huh?" Her dad asked. Miley looked up.

"How'd you know what I was thinking about?"

"Call it a father's intuition."

"I don't know what to do, daddy. What do you think?" Robbie didn't say anything as he poured some batter into the frying pan. With a spatula in his hand, he looked up at his daughter.

"I can't tell you what to do, Miley. It's your secret to tell. That's the whole reason I've been doing everything Ingrid wants. Didn't matter what I wanted, you're the one who'd have to deal with the consequences." Miley tilted her head and held out her plate.

"How did she find out, anyway?" Robbie flipped some pancakes onto her plate and handed her the syrup.

"Complete accident. She came over during her lunch break after we'd been dating for a few months and overheard me talking on the phone. It's been me catering to her every whim ever since." Miley nodded then fell silent as she started to eat. What a pickle they were in!

………

Miley and her dad had spent the whole day together and were still no closer to a solution. Lilly had called during her first break to find out what was going on, and was heading over after school with Jake and Oliver. Miley was fiddling around with the piano and waiting for them to arrive when someone knocked on the door.

"Come on in, guys!" she yelled, thinking it was one of her friends. She heard the door open but didn't look up until after she'd written down a chord progression on a piece of paper.

"You don't look very sick to me," came a snooty voice. It was Amber, standing near the door and looking like she'd just stepped in something icky. She went on, "and why don't you have anyone to answer your door. Don't you know that it's rude to leave people like me at your doorstep?"

"I'm feeling better, thanks for asking. Now whaddya want?" Miley said flatly.

"Michelle wanted me to bring by out midterm project assignment. Not only do I have to work with you, I also have turned into a skunk!"

"What?" Miley said, standing from the bench. Amber was acting like Amber and Miley didn't want to deal with it right now.

"Duh, aren't like, skunks your messengers in Tennessee?" Miley rolled her eyes and took the piece of paper from Amber.

"What do we have to do?" Miley asked.

"Ugh. Write and perform a variation on some stupid play. As if I need to know this for the fashion industry. Daddy got me a job at Vogue…not that you even know what that is..." Amber flipped her hair, then turned as Lilly, Oliver and Leslie came in.

"Amber!" Lilly exclaimed loudly, a large and very fake smile plastered on her face. "How nice of you to stop by!"

Amber's only response was to flip her hair again and stride out the door without another word. As soon as she was clear, Oliver kicked the door shut, making obscene gestures with his hands. Jake was making his way over to Miley, who had sunk back onto the piano bench.

"So…?" Lilly said, making her way over as well. "What's up? At lunch you said you had big news?" Miley looked around quickly to make sure they were alone, then led them upstairs to her Hannah closet. She closed and locked the doors and everyone took a seat. Miley plopped herself down next to Jake, who had removed his wig, and took a deep breath.

"Ingrid's blackmailing my dad." She looked around to see how her friends were reacting. Lilly looked extremely angry, Oliver's mouth was hanging open, and Jake had completely tensed up. After a second, Jake pulled Miley into a hug.

"You do mean that she found out about you being Hannah Montana, right?" Jake asked. Miley nodded into his chest.

"I overheard them talking about it last night…they were arguing about…" Miley took a deep breath, trying to spit out everything that she'd been going through. She felt ashamed for lying to Lilly especially, and she started to feel a prickling behind her eyes.

"Miley?" It was Lilly, of course it was Lilly. "What were they arguing about? What's wrong? You know you can tell me…tell us anything." Miley felt Lilly squeeze her hand, and she willed herself not to cry. She couldn't think of where to start.

"They were arguing about this," she finally said, and rolled up her sleeve to expose the bandaged part of her arm.

"Oh my god, what happened?" Lilly demanded.

"Tim threw me into a wall and some glass broke over my arm."

"Why would he do that?" Oliver asked. Miley looked at all of them. Of the three of them, only Jake seemed to understand. Probably because he'd seen her tackled to the ground. She looked at him pleadingly. His eyes softened and he looked at Lilly and Oliver.

"Tim's been abusing her." He said. The reaction was instantaneous. Lilly went white, and Oliver stood up in a rage, fists clenching. Miley flinched away from him involuntarily, and he sat back down quickly.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Lilly asked faintly. Miley looked down. "All those bruises I noticed, you…lied…"

"I was afraid to, Lilly," Miley said, looking up. "I know now that it was really stupid of me, my dad helped me understand that. I'm sorry I lied to you guys." Lilly gave her hand a squeeze and smiled. "That's how I found out that Ingrid knew about Hannah Montana. Dad didn't want Tim in the house anymore and Ingrid was blackmailing him into it. Now I really don't know what to do." She looked at each of her friends in turn, but all were silent.


	11. Chapter 11

Tomorrow is the only place I own

Today is all I care to know

I hate the ones that waste away

I will not fall into yesterday

-No Harm Done

Chasing Fire: Chapter 11

Miley woke up on the morning of Lilly's birthday with a headache. She groaned and tried to roll out of bed to find her way blocked by the birthday girl herself. Jake, Lilly and Oliver had stayed up late just talking with Miley, but only Lilly had slept over.

"Stop it, Ollie, 's too early for that…" Lilly mumbled.

"Woah, there," Miley said. Lilly opened her eyes, saw Miley looking back at her, and giggled. "Don't wanna know what _that_ was all about," Miley continued. Lilly grinned.

"Time to get up and go to school, huh?" She asked.

"Don't wanna go," Miley said, pulling the covers over her head.

"But Miley, the school votes for homecoming king and queen today! You _have_ to go!"

"How many times do I have to say I don't care 'till you leave me alone about it?"

"Come on, Miley." She ripped the covers off of her best friend. "It's my birthday. Do it for me?" Lilly stuck out her lip and gave Miley the puppy dog eyes.

"Ugh…there's no way to get out of this, huh?"

"Nope! Now, up and at 'em, tiger!" Miley groaned again and rolled out of bed.

As they walked to school, Lilly began to talk about the homecoming queen race for a much needed change. "Yesterday," she said. "Amber was bragging that her daddy had hired a camera crew to record her homecoming victory. So today there are going to be camera's all over the place: you know Amber…"

"Hold up, is that why you made me put on a Hannah outfit?" Miley stopped. Lilly kept walking.

"Would you've come to school if I told you before? I basically had to drag you into this in the first place!" Miley sighed and caught up to her friend.

"Fine, but this is the only present I'm getting' you!"

"S'okay by me."

Miley and Lilly walked into school and immediately saw Amber clinging on to Jake while making him smile at the cameras that surrounded her. Jake looked right at Miley and put his hands together in a pleading gesture. He wanted to get away.

"Why is he Jake today?" Miley asked Lilly.

"He's the only boy nominated for homecoming King—the other's who were going to run dropped out when he accepted his nomination."

"So Amber is trying to associate with him. I've gotta save him." Miley walked over to the cameras and said loudly, "Hey Amber! Thanks so much for telling me about it when you came over to my house yesterday!" Amber glared at her, but continued smiling. One of the cameras focused in on Miley, and she smiled genuinely.

"Why don't you tell us a little about yourself, sweetheart," said a fourth man standing to the side. Before Miley could even open her mouth, Amber cut in.

"Her? The only thing you need to know about her is that she's a dumb hillbilly nobody who has no chance. Now bring that camera back to me!" She lifted both her arms, thus releasing Jake who immediately went to Miley's side.

"_What_ are you doing?" Amber demanded, putting her hands on her hips and sticking out her lower lip.

"I'm putting my arm around my girlfriend." Jake put his arm around Miley. _What is he doing?_ Miley wondered. "And now I'm going to kiss her." Jake leaned down and pecked Miley on the lips. She was so confused that she didn't object.

"But you broke up!" Amber cried. "…And isn't she, like, with that new guy? Les something?"

"Leslie, yes. Miley is dating him. But she's also dating me." Everyone in hearing distance looked confused. "See, Leslie is my real name, and I'm not ashamed to admit that. When you met me as Leslie the other day, I just wanted to be a normal kid. Being a star can be exhausting, and sometimes it's a little much. Being Leslie allows me to go out in the world without all the hassle." Miley was staring at him, along with everyone else. "But that wig is itchy, and the only thing I want now is to be with the girl I love as myself."

Jake pulled Miley into a hug, and then walked with her down the hall. Pulling her into an empty classroom and shooing away the camera that had followed them, he whispered in her ear. "Miley, I was thinking last night how much you mean to me. What Tim is doing to you is wrong, and there is no way that you can go on living like this. I was watching you at the beach on Sunday, and I had never seen you look so defeated. I don't ever want to see you like that again, so I am _begging you_, boyfriend to girlfriend, to do whatever you can to get him out of your life and get Ingrid out of your father's. Celebrity to celebrity, I am telling you that life will go on, and it won't be that bad. Hannah has had her share of bad press over the years, and hasn't she dealt with some frankly insane paparazzi? More than any of that, I know that you, you Miley, can handle it. So please. _Please_."

His last words sounded broken. Miley felt her heart swell, and she clung to Jake as if he were her lifeline.

Which, at the moment, he was.

-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-

Let me know what you think, sorry this one's so short. Thanks for all your reviews :)


	12. Chapter 12

And to patch their past mistakes  
can't take another day  
I'm singing loud  
I'm standing proud  
cause it's what I believe in

-LoveHateHero

Chasing Fire: Chapter 12

Because Lit was Miley's first class, she and Jake walked together to class and entered hand in hand. Michelle was, unbelievingly, batting her eyes at the cameras that were pointed at her and explaining how the 'homecoming hopefuls' were actually working together on the midterm. Amber was standing beside her, an arrogant smile pasted on her face. When Miley entered the room, a brief flash of annoyance passed over Amber's face. One of the cameramen noticed and swung to catch Miley and Jake's entrance

"Ex-_cuse_ me, focus back on me, people! Daddy didn't pay you to make a movie about her!" The wayward cameraman quickly focused back on Michelle and Amber. Miley shrugged and sat down next to Lilly. Jake sat on her other side, scooting his chair closer as Michelle was preoccupied with the cameras. They finally stopped shooting after twenty minutes, but they didn't leave the room so nothing much was accomplished in class. At the end of the period, Miley exited the door and was surprised when Gage came up to her, wielding his own camera.

"What are you doing, Gage?" she asked, looking at him uncertainly.

"Well, you don't honestly think _everyone_ in this school is rooting for Amber? So a bunch of us decided that if she's getting documented, you could to. I had a free period first, so I ran home to get my camera. Now, SMILE!" Miley turned pink as she shyly smiled.

"Gage," came a snooty voice behind Miley. It was Amber. "Me and you used to me good friends. I mean, we were both so popular. Then you went and dated _this_ loser and now you're taking _her_ side?" She crossed her arms. Gage kept the camera rolling as he said,

"Amber. You are so delusional if you think that we were ever friends." That's all he said, but Amber huffed off (followed by the cameramen).

"Gage, really, you're sweet, but I don't know about this," Miley said.

"Come on, Miley, this is perfect!" Lilly said. Miley looked at her dubiously. "I'm _serious_. We could show the winner's video at the dance!" A bunch of people murmured their ascent. Miley gave in. Channeling Hannah, she grinned at the camera and started in on a spiel.

"Hey y'all. My name is Miley Stewart. I'm running for homecoming queen against Amber Addison, and my friends decided that since she was making a documentary, hiring out her daddy's money, they should make one for me, too! So…" Miley started walking toward her next class, having a little fun. "What to say, what to say…?" Miley talked as they walked along, giving some background information on herself. After her initial introduction, she ignored the camera throughout the rest of the morning and just acted as she normally did. At lunchtime, she shook off Gage and all her friends, and went home.

"Daddy!" she called, walking in the door.

"Dear lord, yell a little louder next time," her dad said from the floor. At the sound of her voice, he had jumped so high that he'd fallen off the couch. Miley suspected that he'd been dozing on the couch.

"Any evil around?" Miley asked, sitting above him on the back of the couch. Robbie Ray got up off the floor and brushed himself off.

"Nope, what's on your mind?"

"Well I was talking to Jake this morning, and I think that he finally talked sense into me. My secret is not as important as you. I mean, we'd have to tell everyone sooner or later, and I was thinking, why not get it over with?" Robbie Ray was silent a moment, then he said slowly,

"You're sure about this, Miles?" Miley nodded. "Any ideas as to how you're going to do it?"

"Well, I know it's really short notice, but do you think you could book somewhere for a last minute concert tomorrow night?" Her dad blinked.

"Tomorrow night? That's awfully quick, bud."

"Dad, I can't live like this anymore. Yeah, _maybe_ I could have kept my secret through college, but what's the point? We both would be miserable. Jake told me that being a celebrity all the time, yes, can be exhausting, but it's part of who I am. Plus, I'm sick of having to lie to everyone I meet. Life shouldn't be this hard."

"Okay, then. I'll book somewhere special, get everything taken care of."

"Do you think the band could learn a couple of new songs by tomorrow night?" Miley said hopefully.

"I think they could," he said. "Just get me the music and I'll get it to them." Miley ran upstairs and grabbed the music to three songs she'd written and brought it back down to her dad.

"You're doing the right thing, Miley. I'm proud of you," Robbie Ray said, pulling Miley into a hug. She squeezed him back.

"I wish Jackson could be here," she said, surprising her father. "I'm serious, daddy. When I saw him at the concert last weekend, I realized that, while he's still the biggest dork on the planet, I really do miss him. And this will affect him too, think about how he's going to use this to get girls!" Her dad chuckled. "Anyway, I'd better get back to school. Did I tell you that Gage is making a documentary about me? It's only 'cause Amber has one, but still that's kind of sweet, don't you think?"

"You sure picked a winner in that one, bud."

"Oh…um…we aren't dating anymore…see…I'm kinda back with Jake, now…" Her dad raised an eyebrow and Miley turned pink.

"That sure was fast," was all he said. "But it's good that you and Jake are getting along again, I was starting to worry about that Zombie High movie." Miley smiled at her dad.

"Yeah, we'll just see how popular Hannah is after the world finds out she's Miley."

"They're going to love you, darlin'. You've got nothing to worry about. Everyone's gonna love you."

"Thanks daddy, I love you."

"Love you, too, bud."


	13. Chapter 13

I will tell you what I've learned  
We're one as far as I'm concerned  
Make up and just before we do  
I will be walking back to you

-K's Choice

Chasing Fire: Chapter 13

Lilly, Jake and Oliver were handing out cookies just outside the cafeteria when Miley made it back to school. She smiled in gratitude at her friends (Jake and Oliver were eating more than they were giving away, but it was the thought that counted) and joined them behind the table, where Gage was recording the scene.

"Vote Miley!" she said, picking up a pink-frosted cookie and handing it to the first person that walked out.

"Hey, thanks!" It was Dandruff Danny. As high school had progressed, Danny had gotten control over his outrageous dandruff, but he was still near the bottom of the social ladder. He looked at Miley and said, "just so you know, a lot of people like you. Who cares what Ashley or Amber say about you-you're one of the nicest people in school, and not all of us are mindless drones…"

"Thanks, Danny. That really means a lot to me that you would say that." Danny shrugged, then got a devilish glint in his eye and ruffled his hair while leaning toward her. Miley laughed at the joke. "You aren't so bad yourself, you know." Danny smiled genuinely, saluted is already half-gone cookie, and walked away.

"When does the voting end?" Miley asked, turning toward Lilly.

"Final bell," She answered. "Most people are voting right now. So I figured that by giving people dessert right after they finished eating the mystery meat would be a good idea."

"It's _your_ birthday, and you're doing all this stuff for _me_," Miley said.

"First, I want to do all this, not like with everything going on in your life right now you have the time, or that you even care in the first place. I feel bad into pushing you in to this, I know it's sorta not your dealio." Lilly smiled. "Just make sure my present is very, very big!" Miley laughed.

"So you went home?" Came a low voice in her ear. Miley shivered as the hairs on the back of her neck were tickled by Jake's breath.

"Yeah," she said in a choked voice. She turned red with embarrassment, then turned to face him. "Talked with my dad a bit, made a good decision. Based on our conversation this morning."

"You mean…?" Miley looked around. Other than Gage, no one was paying attention. Miley pulled Jake's head closer to hers.

"There's a surprise concert tomorrow night," she whispered. His eyes widened and, conscious of the camera wielded by her recent ex-boyfriend, Jake picked her up and spun her around, laughing joyously. One of her swinging feet kicked a leg of the table that held the cookie box, and it started to wobble.

"Not the cookies!" Oliver cried, diving for the box. He ended up going completely over the table, and it was actually Lilly who saved the box of cookies just as the table flipped over onto Oliver. Jake put Miley down and she looked at Oliver sheepishly.

"Oops?" Miley heard a snort of laughter and whirled to find Jake covering his mouth. She frowned at him. But then, another laugh broke out and pretty soon they were all laughing.

"Wow, Stewart. You sure have a weird way of campaigning." It was Amber, of course. "Me? I'm giving out iPod shuffles." She tossed a few at them. "Here, you can sell them for a new life. Yours certainly isn't worth that much." Miley put her arm on Lilly, who was clenching her fist and rolling up her sleeve (Oliver had relieved her of the cookie box again, and was eating from it, silently watching the scene).

"You can't buy friends, Amber. Just accept the fact that people just like me better. I don't need fancy things to impress people. I like the way I am, and I have one of these already." She tossed one of the shuffles back at Amber and walked away before Amber could think of a retort.

……………………………

The rest of the day was a waste of time, because of the fact that it was Friday afternoon anyway as well as the fact that Gage and Amber's cameramen were in every class Miley had. When final bell rang, Miley walked home, relieved that school was done for the week. She had to concentrate on tomorrow night, anyway.

Opening the door to her house, Miley saw something that immediately made her tense. Tim was there, as was Ingrid and her father. They were all talking.

"Miley, honey!" Ingrid cried as she heard the door open. She turned toward Miley and offered a fake, plastic smile. "How was your day at school?" Miley glanced at her father who shrugged helplessly. He held up a finger and mouthed, _one more day_. She nodded at him and pasted a smile on her face.

"It was great, actually. The whole school voted for homecoming queen today. I was one of the two candidates." She saw her dad's eyebrows shoot up in surprise before someone else spoke.

"And who in their right mind would vote for you?" It was a voice behind Miley, but she knew it instantly.

"Jackson!" She had no idea how he'd gotten here so fast, but she was so glad that he'd come. She threw her arms around him and hugged him so tightly that he grunted and staggered back a couple of steps, dropping his bag on the ground.

"Heard that you were in need of some brotherly luuuuuvin.' My flight left early this morning."

"This… morning?" Miley whirled to her dad, amazed that he knew her so well. He was smiling widely, now holding up his hands in his own defense.

"Don't look at me, Miles, I had nothing to..." Miley put her hands on her hips and shot him a look of exasperation. "...okay, so maybe it was my idea."

"You asked Jackson to come back to our house?" Ingrid demanded. Miley forgot that she and Tim were even in the room.

"Well," said Robbie Ray, turning to his 'girlfriend', "I figured that a lot of important decisions were about to be made, and Jackson's as much a part of this family as any of us."

"Plus," Jackson added. "I wanted to congratulate my darlin' father on his engagement." Miley crinkled her nose in disgust. One more day. One more day, one more day... "And I also came to warn my future step-brother away from my sister." Tim, silent until then, stood up, fists clenched and rage in his eyes.

"That spoiled little brat deserves it!" He yelled. Jackson stepped in front of Miley as Tim stalked closer. "Why should _she_ just sit here in this palace while I have to work so hard just to get by!" Tim was right in front of Jackson now.

"Boys!" It was Ingrid. Tim backed off immediately, but Jackson retained his protective stance in front of Miley. A heavy silence hung in the room until finally Ingrid laughed nervously. They all turned to stare at her incredulously. Instead of explaining herself, she changed the subject. "Well, okay. I suppose that Jackson _is_ a part of this family," _my family_, thought Miley, "so he technically has a say in what's going to happen."

"Will someone _please_ tell me what's going on?" Miley demanded.

"Well, sweetie," Ingrid started. Miley winced at her sugary tone. "After your little disagreement with my son," _is _that_ what you're calling it, lady?_ Miley thought. Y_ou must be delusional!_ "At first I couldn't believe what your father was saying, but then he kept insisting that..."

"They're sending me away," said Tim in a biting voice, glaring at Miley with venom.

"Huh?"

"I'm going to live with my dad in Texas. I'm leaving tomorrow. Are you happy now?!" Tim stormed toward Miley, and Jackson became tense, but Tim just left through the door, slamming it behind him.

"Oh, dear. I'd better go after him," said Ingrid. She gathered her purse and her coat and turned to Robbie Ray. "I'll stay at home with Timmie tonight, and see you in the morning, sweetie? Are we still going to have that surfing lesson?" He nodded and she gave him a peck on the cheek, then was gone.

"Well, they're both crazy," Jackson said. Miley hugged him again. He hugged her back without protest.


	14. Chapter 14

The wait is done, the battle's won  
So count the cost before you run  
'Cos on and on your time was power  
The clock on the wall ticks away the hours

-Def Leppard

Chasing Fire: Chapter 14

Miley sat at the bar in the kitchen, eating pizza with her dad and brother. It felt right, just having the three of them sit down and eat, even if it was delivered food. Miley hadn't realized how quiet it had been until Jackson was back. He was rambling on through mouthfuls of pizza, some incomprehensible story about Nina. Miley thought he was talking about how she had a solo with her orchestra, but you never could be sure with Jackson food-speech. Her dad had one eyebrow raised, and a big grin on his face. Finally Jackson swallowed and finished,

"Isn't that great?!"

"Woulda been a better story if we coulda understood the words, son," Robbie Ray said, shaking his head and chuckling. Turning toward Miley, he said,

"Got a venue for your concert, bud. Turns out that by some fluke the game at the Staples Center is in the afternoon tomorrow, so tomorrow night they were able to take us." Miley's jaw dropped.

"That's the first place I performed out here!" Switching from delight to worry in a second, she went on, "Daddy, what if no one comes? That's such a huge place-how will we fill up all those seats?!" Jackson snorted into his pizza.

"You'll have no trouble filling those seats, Miles, trust me," he stuck a new slice into his mouth, "mmmppph, mgggeiii…."

"I think what my charming son is tryin' to say is that you're already sold out."

"You're _joking_! I just decided at _lunch_ to go through with it! And here it is, eight hours later, and I'm already _sold out_?"

"That's the beauty of the media. Word got around that Hannah Montana was having a surprise concert with some sort of big announcement, and those tickets just disappeared." Robbie Ray smiled. "Course, it does help that her favorite father in the whole wide world called up everyone he knew and told them that this was the concert event of the season…" Miley shot up and raced to her dad's seat, enveloping him in a huge hug (she seemed to be doing that a lot lately).

"Geeze, Miles. Give the man some air!" Jackson was apparently done stuffing his face, which meant the pizza was gone and he was looking around for something to drink.

"Don' wanna," Miley said, burying her face into her dad's shoulder and hugging him tighter. "I've got the best dad ever!"

"Love you too, Miley."

"Jackson! That's _my_ pizza!" Miley said, letting go of her dad and whirling toward her brother. Jackson looked up, feigning innocent even as cheese dripped from the corner of his mouth. Miley crossed her arms in front of her.

"Uh oh, you'd better run, boy," Jackson didn't need telling twice, and he ran off, heading toward the door but then doubling back to the kitchen, swinging around the bar and grabbing the crust of Miley's pizza (which he hadn't bitten off before). He ran out the room and thundered up the stairs. As Miley thundered up behind him, Robbie Ray made his way to the couch in front of the TV and casually sat down. Amid hollers and shrieks, he flicked the television on and chuckled to himself, shaking his head at how his kids never seemed to change.

……………………….

Miley was laying in her bed later that night, unable to get to sleep. The thoughts in her head just refused to be quiet. She did have a lot to think about, after all, her life was about to completely change.

How should she go about announcing herself? Should she just waltz onto stage with no wig? Tear it off in the middle of a song?

What would happen with her album- should she change the name on the cover? What about the Zombie High movie? How would people react to a brown-haired Zerronda?

Would she and her dad have to move because of all the press she was going to get? Was there any way to stop all the attention? She knew the answer to that one: a big N-O.

And what about school? People had adjusted to Jake being around them (well, most of them had), but Miley had been there all along, lying to them. Would they see her as a fraud? And what would her classmates tell the press about the life of Miley Stewart?

A few things she was sure of, though. Lilly and Oliver and Jake, at least, would continue to treat her the same. Ingrid would be forever out of her dad's life, and hers. And there would be no more Tim. No more fear, no more bruises that she had to explain away to everyone. No more. It was done, Tim was going to Texas with his father no matter what.

Why had she let it get this far? She should have told her dad the minute Tim started…acting crazy. For that matter, what was wrong with him in the first place? Was it just his personality? Or was he on drugs? Miley put the thought aside and decided she didn't care. He was gone, she didn't have to watch her back anymore, didn't have to strategically plan her interactions with him. He was…not her problem any more.

Ingrid might or might not be upset when her dad broke up with her. Miley frankly thought that Ingrid didn't actually care about him at all. After she and Jackson had come back downstairs after Jackson had holed up in his room (Miley refused to go in it ever again after the Joey Vitolo incident, even if he hadn't been home in a few months).

A knock from her patio interrupted her musings. Rolling over and lighting up her clock, she saw that it was nearly two in the morning. Whoever it was hadn't knocked very hard- either they'd expected her to still be awake, or they didn't want to wake her if she wasn't already up. Either way, Miley padded over to the door and opened it.

"I thought you might still be awake," Jake said, bringing Miley into an embrace. Despite the fact that they'd only been back together for a week, she didn't want him to ever let go. All the stresses that were building up for tomorrow, all her questions, doubts, and worries seemed to just go away.

"Come inside," she said softly a few minutes later. She felt him nod against the top of her head, and giggled softly as his chin bumped into her. She felt the rumble of his laughter in his chest just before they went inside.

"We have to be really quiet though," Miley said. She sat down in her bed, and Jake sat beside her. She leaned up against him and he put his arm across her back. "What're you doing here?" she asked him.

"I just wanted you to know that you made the right choice. Also, I was lying in bed, just staring at the ceiling worrying about tomorrow and I figured you'd be doing the same, so I decided we could tackle all that together." Miley felt extremely grateful that he could know exactly what she needed.

"I don't know what to think," she said. "There are so many good and so many bad things that could possibly happen."

"I know what you mean. But you should just relax. Whatever's coming will come. And I believe you can make it through anything." Miley pulled away and narrowed her eyes at him.

"That's a line from Teen Gladiators." Jake laughed. Miley thought she saw his cheeks darken in what little light reflected through her windows.

"Yeah, sorry." More seriously, he said, "But, Miley, it's true. You are so strong, you can handly anything." He leaned toward her and gave her temple a soft kiss. She sighed and leaned against him. Fiddling with her hair, Jake went on. "I don't know how you've done it all these years to be honest with you. Leading a double life seems exhausting."

"It is. There's all the running around, lying to people, keeping track of who' who…" she trailed off and both of them were lost in their own thoughts for a minute.

"I missed you," Jake said, trailing his hand down her spine. Miley shivered as tingles spread down her back. "All the time. This whole week I wake up forgetting that you're here. I panic, I feel like screaming. Then I remember that I somehow got you again. Thank you, thank you. You have no idea how much I…" Miley put her hand up onto his lips.

"I think I do," she said. Slowly she brought her lips up to his. She was acutely aware of every part of him: his lips, slightly chapped but still soft, his hair as she tangled a hand in it, his hand resting at the small of her back, his knee resting against hers. Unexpectedly, he lifted her up and laid her back on her bed and she let out a squeak of surprise.

"Nice sound effect," he said, chuckling briefly before leaning so he was half on top of her and ensnaring her lips again. She promptly forgot completely about everything else and tangled her legs with his. She felt breathless as his lips left hers and traveled down her neck, stopping at her collarbone and then making their way back up. Jake move the hand that had been at her back to the hem of her nightshirt, where his thumb began making slow circles that drove her wild. As their lips connected again Miley's mind registered a small sound in the background that caused her to freeze.

_Creak_.

She violently pushed Jake off the side of the bed, where he landed with a grunt and managed to arrange herself in a semi-sleeping position just as the door opened.

"Miley?" It was her dad, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. Miley thought fast and shot up in bed, looking around in what she hoped looked like confused manner. "You okay, I heard talking?"

"Daddy?" Her dad sat on the edge of the bed. Jake had wisely stayed on the floor on the far side of the bed. "I just had the worst nightmare!" She went on to describe some of the things she'd been worrying about before-after all, her worries were real and _could_ have given her a nightmare. When she was done, her dad smoothed her hair back.

"Well, you do seem a bit feverish. Kind of sweaty, too," Miley heard a small snort from the floor and covered it up with a cough. "Why don't we go downstairs and I'll make you some loco hot cocoa?"

"Okay, daddy," Miley said, throwing aside what little covers she'd managed to pull on and sliding out of bed. She felt a little bad about leaving Jake there to show himself out, but at least they hadn't gotten caught.

Sipping the last of her hot cocoa in the kitchen, Miley thanked her dad and they both went back upstairs. They hadn't really talked much, but they'd really said everything over dinner anyway. Plus, her dad wasn't really awake. At her door, he gave her a kiss on the top of her head and said good night. Miley waited until he was back in his room with the light off then re-entered her room.

"Took you long enough," Jake said from her bed. He was leaning against the headboard, looking through one of her magazines. Miley's hand flew to her heart. She swiftly shut the door and padded over to him.

"You scared the chickens outta me," she said, hitting him playfully on the arm. He tossed the magazine on the floor then smiled innocently. "And I thought you were going to leave?"

"Who said anything about leaving?" He asked, pulling her onto the bed. "And…chickens?" He raised an eyebrow at her. She blushed then decided to ignore the quip at one of her sayings.

"I'm serious, we almost got caught!"

"I'm serious, too. I'm not going anywhere tonight. You obviously won't get any sleep without your knight in shining armor, and where would a knight be without his princess?"

"That is the cheesiest thing you've ever said to me," Miley said, laying against his chest.

"You were the one who kept calling me your knight in shining armor, princess. Besides, I just want to make sure you're okay." Miley smiled to herself, feeling extremely tired all of a sudden.

"Fine, you can stay. But I get the right side of the bed." She wiggled down under the covers and felt Jake do the same, then felt him wrap his arms around her form behind. She was asleep in minutes.

…………………

**author's note:**

**so sorry about the increasing amount of time it's been taking me to update. I love reviews, so keep writing them ******

**on another note, I kinda need some help. What I was originally going to do was use of the Miley Cyrus songs as one of the new songs for her concert, and then write one. Unfortunately all my attempts have made my sister laugh (well, the lyrics have at least), so I'm thinking of either just adding another Miley song or having someone else write one. So let me know what you think, or even if you have a great idea for a song, let me know. It was originally supposed to have something to do with the story title, but I'm probably going to change that now. Just let me know if you have an idea and I'll give you my e-mail address. **

**Again, thanks to all who've reviewed. Ta for now, C.**


	15. Chapter 15

I've been so wrapped up in my warm cocoon  
But something's happening, things are changing soon  
I'm pushing the edge, I'm feeling it crack  
And once I get out, there's no turning back

-Hilary Duff

Chasing Fire: Chapter 15

The sunlight streaming in through Miley's windows woke her up on Saturday morning. Glancing at her clock, she saw that it was already ten in the morning. She tried to sit up and found herself pinned down. Confused, it took her a second to remember the events of the previous night. Becoming more aware of herself, she found that two strong arms held her in place from behind. She smiled and snuggled back into Jake's embrace.

"Finally awake?" His voice was deeper than usual, still influenced by sleep. Miley murmured in reply and turned over in bed to face him.

"Mornin'," she said, voice cracking slightly. He kissed the top of her head and she wrapped her arms around him.

"Your dad came in about an hour ago," Jake said casually. _That_ woke her up. She shot straight up and looked at him with a horrified expression on her face. He chuckled and propped himself up on one arm. "Don't worry. He just sorta raised an eyebrow then left. He's pretty laid back, don't you think?" Miley relaxed marginally.

"How about that time when he waited on the porch till you brought me home from our date do that you couldn't kiss me goodnight?" It had been their first date, when they were still in middle school. Amazing how four years had changed them.

"Well, you've grown up a lot since then," Jake said, almost reading her thoughts. "He had no problem with us on the porch when we were sophomores, remember?" Miley blushed slightly at the memory. Just before Jake had announced his upcoming foray to Africa, Robbie Ray had accidentally walked out of the house in the middle of a Jake-Miley make out session, or as Lilly called them 'Jiley time.' Rather than saying anything, he'd closed his trap and walked right back inside. Of course, he'd completely ruined the moment, but Miley still thought it was unintentional.

"Too true," she said, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. "We'd better go downstairs, then. If he asks, I called you after my nightmare and you came over, we talked, then we just fell asleep."

"Well, that's kind of what happened," Jake said, climbing out of the other side of the bed. Miley threw on a sweatshirt even though the day was already quite warm, and led Jake by the hand downstairs.

Robbie Ray was nowhere to be seen, but Jackson, up uncharacteristically early for him, frowned as Miley and Jake appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

"And what are _you_ doing here, mister?" he asked, staring at Jake accusingly.

"Stop it, Jackson. I had a nightmare and Jake just came over so I could talk. We fell asleep. Completely innocent, unlike what you do with girls when they come over. Hey, have you and Nina…."

"All right-y then!" Jackson said, hurriedly getting up from the couch. "Lilly called while you were still asleep, said to call her when you got up." Miley nodded and she and Jake headed for some kitchen and sliced some toast. As Jake watched the toast, Miley dialed Lilly's cell number.

"Hola!" Came her loud and perky voice from the other end of the line.

"Hey, Lilly. 'S me," Miley said.

"Yeah, hi. I was wondering if you wanted to meet me and Oliver down at the beach- we've been here for a while surfing, the waves are awesome!"

"Um…sure, I guess. I think I'm gonna pass on the surfing, though," Miley smiled to herself as Lilly exhaled in disappointment. Who'da thought that the only coordination Miley had was oriented toward dancing? Lilly tried to teach her to surf, but failed abysmally. Miley hadn't been on a surfboard since. Jake was trying to get her attention. She looked over to see him pantomiming surfing. She nodded that she got the message, and said, "Jake's game for surfing, though. We'll see you down there soon, bye!" Miley ended the conversation before Lilly could ask any questions. The toast popped up.

……………..

"Hey Jackson," Oliver greeted as Miley, Jackson and Jake made their way to where Lilly and Oliver were waxing their boards. He looked uncertainly at Miley's older brother. Miley shrugged at Lilly, who was giving her a questioning stare. Miley didn't mind at all that Jackson had come along. He could talk to her while the other three were surfing.

"Hey guys, long time, no see." Jackson spread a Spiderman towel on the sand and kicked off his flip-flops before laying down.

"When did you get here?" Oliver asked. "Cause, last I knew you were in school somewhere on the other side of the country?"

"Oh my GOD!" Lilly shrieked, earning a couple of stares from the surrounding crowd. "You got kicked outta school!" Jackson scoffed.

"I did _not_ get kicked out," Jackson said, throwing everyone a incredulous look. "For your information, Truscott, my little sister has the biggest night of her life tonight and I wanted to be there for her." Miley smiled and gave him a hug. Lilly scooted over and put her hand on Miley' forehead.

"What're you doing?" Miley asked, crossing her eyes to look upwards.

"Checking to see if you're feeling okay. You just hugged Jackson, voluntarily. You know, Jackson? Obnoxious older brother, threw a party when he went away Jackson?"

"You did?" Jackson asked as Lilly withdrew her hand.

"Umm…." Miley searched for the words, "I love you!" She smiled innocently. Jackson rolled his eyes, but then smiled.

"Whatever. I threw a party when I left, too." They all laughed, and after exchanging small talk for a while, Jake, Lilly and Oliver went into the ocean to surf.

"You're really going through with this?" Jackson asked after a few minutes of silence. Miley swallowed.

"Yeah. I really am. It's time. Plus, dad can't relate us to those people!" Jackson didn't laugh.

"Why didn't you tell anyone about Tim?" Miley fiddled with the edge of her towel to put off answering. "Miley?" Jackson was looking at her now.

"Honestly? I have no idea. I guess I thought it was pretty stupid that someone like me," she was talking about the Hannah part of her, and Jackson nodded in understanding, "could be controlled by someone like that. So I didn't tell anyone." The warm sun was starting to make her sleepy again.

"Our whole lives are gonna change, you know." Miley flipped onto her stomach and lay her head on her hands.

"I know that. But what other alternatives are there? Besides, Jake deals with this stuff every day, and he's okay. It won't be that bad, plus it'll get old really fast. And yeah, I don't know if everyone will react positively or negatively, but I would've had to reveal myself sooner or later anyway. Why not now, when it actually makes sense?"

"True, true." He turned his gaze back to the sky. "Nina's gonna freak when she finds out I'm related to you." He said.

"A lot of people are gonna—"

"Stewart, you and your stinky brother are in our sun spot!" Miley lifted her head up and looked at Ashley, who was sans Amber for once, but had a few other followers with her.

"I don't see your name on it, Ashley," Miley said. "I could stay here all day if I wanted and you wouldn't be able to do anything about it."

"As if, I would _totally_ get burned! Complexion, eeewww! Anyway, maybe _you_ could stay here all day, but Amber's daddy got us front-row tickets to the Hannah Montana show tonight!" One of the drones squealed and began asking Ashley if she could come.

"I'm sure daddy can buy a few extra front row tickets." Ahh, there was devil #1. "It _is_ a sold out show, but we can get them. Maybe backstage passes!" Miley put her head back on her hands. Amber scoffed. "Which _some_ people couldn't get, because they're simple nobodies with no life. I bet she's never even been able to afford one of Hannah's Concerts, except the one's she does for free. I mean, check out that suit, can we say, _so last year_?" Miley was repeating, _just ignore, just ignore, just ignore_, in her head over and over. Amber chattered on about how she was better than everyone else until Lilly came running up and planted her board in the sand.

"Oh look, here comes your geek squad," Amber said. Lilly glared at her as Oliver came up behind her.

"Just go away, Amber. Don't you have some shoe sale to go to?" Amber made a squeak of indignation and spun on her heel, muttering as she and her groupies tromped off:

"As if _I_ wait for _sales_. Does he _know_ who I am?"

"Were they bothering you?" Miley flipped onto her back once more as a wet Jake flopped down beside her. His hand was cool on her shoulder.

"Just being Amber and Ashley. They're going to be in the front row tonight, I can't wait to see the look on their faces!"


	16. Chapter 16

But would it set me free  
If I dared to let you see  
The truth behind the person  
That you imagine me to be

-Casting Crowns

Chasing Fire: Chapter 16

Around three, Robbie Ray called Miley up reminding her to be back at the house by four, so that they could run a sound check as well as go over the moves for her two new songs with the choreographer and her dancers. Hanging up the phone, she found Lilly looking at her with a funny look on her face.

"What?"

"Are you nervous?" Oliver, Jake and Jackson, who'd been arguing the finer points of sandcastle making, stopped their argument on how to correctly space the windows and looked toward the girls. Miley looked at each of them in turn.

"It's certainly going to change everything," she said. Jake sidled over to her and put his arm across her back. She leaned her head against his shoulder and went on, "I'm pretty excited, actually. I can't wait to sing my own songs, well, not my first own new songs, but you know, my first songs as me, does that make sense?" Lilly nodded.

"What else are you singing?"

"Most are from my older albums, about my double life. Nothing from my upcoming album, dad thought it'd be good to premier a couple of those in Denver tomorrow night."

"Aww…but I really liked that one about the thing in the place!" Miley blinked at Lilly. Everyone else looked at her, too. "You know, the one you wrote when…" she cast her eyes to Jake and bit her lip nervously.

"You wrote a song about me?" Jake asked. _Damn him for being so perceptive!_ Miley thought. She looked up at him.

"Umm…you'll just have to wait for the album!" She grinned as he looked affronted. He opened his mouth to protest and she jumped to her feet. "Gotta go to the ladies room!" She rushed off before he could say anything. As she walked away, she vaguely heard him questioning Lilly, who apparently refused to answer. Miley continued walking away. Lost in her own thoughts, she tripped over a foot.

"Watch it!" Miley groaned. Were Amber and Ashley _always_ around to witness her embarrassing moments? Amber, who's foot she'd run over pushed her sunglasses higher up on her nose and closed her eyes. Ashley 'humphed' and turned over.

"Are you okay, Miley?" It was Gage, of all people, staring at her with concern. He was nearby with Becca, and they were both looking at her with a funny expression.

"Uh, yeah…th—"

"How did you get those bruises?" Gage asked as Becca peered at her. Miley flushed-she'd completely forgotten about the bruises Tim had given her. Most of them had faded, but the most recent ones were still present.

"She probably tripped up the stairs, clumsy hillbilly," Amber muttered. Miley glared at her, but Amber's eyes were closed, so she just turned and continued her walk to the bathrooms.

"You didn't trip." Came a matter of fact voice as Miley exited the bathroom. Miley took a surprised step back and let out a surprised yelp. Becca had apparently followed her to the bathroom, and was waiting for her outside.

"Of course I did," Miley said when she'd gotten over her surprise. Becca frowned at her, and they stared at each other for a moment. Miley broke her gaze first.

"Seriously, I know I'm probably the person you like least right now, dating your ex, but I'm calling you out and saying that's a load of crap." Miley looked up in alarm. Becca's voice softened. "Just…if you ever need someone to talk to…I mean…give me a call, okay? I've been there, and it's not something you can handle yourself."

"I'm fine," Miley insisted. Becca looked hurt for a brief moment, then nodded and walked away. Miley watched her walk a few steps, then her guilt got the better of her.

"Hey, Becca, wait!" Becca turned and looked at her expectantly. "Um…what're you doing tonight?"

"Well, I was throwing a party, but now that everyone else is going to the Hannah Montana concert, seems kinda pointless." Miley bit her lip.

"You're not going to the concert?"

"I had cheerleading after school yesterday. By the time I got home the tickets were all sold out. And I _refuse_ to beg _Amber_ for a ticket. Why?"

"What if I told you I could get you backstage passes?" Becca's entire demeanor changed, and she rushed toward Miley. Miley was half afraid she was going to be tackled, but Becca stopped just short and grabbed her hands.

"Ohmygod! Ohmygod! _You_ have backstage passes?!" Miley rolled her eyes, and Becca let go and stepped back defensively. "N-not that it's hard to believe…I…I mean, it's just…umm…" Miley grinned.

"Yeah, I think I've got two extra. You guys wanna come?" Gage had come up behind Becca.

"Go where?"

"To the Hannah Montana concert-backstage! Miley's got extra tickets!" Miley watched as Gage failed at covering up his excitement. Dating him, Miley had discovered his obsession with girly pop music of the Hannah Montana variety, and had teased him mercilessly for it.

"Yeah, there's a guests only entrance to the Staples Center," she said, describing the location. "Just get there around seven thirty and I'll meet you there." Becca squealed and gave her a gigantic hug. Gage probably would have, too, if Becca (or anyone else for that matter) weren't around.

"See you there!" Becca said, grabbing Gage's hand and leading him away, rapidly demanding he take her to the mall so she could get an appropriate outfit for tonight. Miley shook her head and started walking back to her towel. On the way, she thought about whether she'd done the right thing. While she knew Gage pretty well (for obvious reasons), she and Becca weren't the best of friends. They'd never fought over anything, but they were never buddy-buddy either. But Becca _had_ offered to help her, even if she was her boyfriend's ex, so Miley figured she may as well invite her. Well, what was done was done, either way.

Jackson had everything packed up when she got back.

"Dad called while you were gone, we've gotta get you back."

"We're gonna go change, then we'll meet you there," Oliver said. Jake and Lilly nodded along with them, and Miley gave a small wave and walked back toward the house with Jackson.

………….

"I know I've said it like twenty times already, but I _love_ that song!" Miley looked over to were Lilly and Oliver were sitting and smiled at them. It was seven o'clock, an hour before the start of the concert. Jake had yet to show, which Miley was nervous about, but she was all done with rehearsal and she and her dancers had learned the dance to both her new songs in record time. Lilly was coming over to her now, still bopping her head to the now non-existent beat.

"Thanks, Lilly," Miley said. She was relieved that her friend liked her song- Lilly was always spot on and dead truthful about the songs Miley wrote. She walked backstage with her friends to her dressing room as her dad made the call to start letting people in the front doors. Soon, an excited murmur could be heard from backstage.

"So how are you going to do it?" Oliver asked. Miley looked at him blankly. "I mean, are you going to rip a wig off or change or just go out as Miley from the get go?"

"Well, we decided that pulling the wig off during the show wouldn't be such a great idea, I'd have wig hair. Going right out as me would be a problem, too, because I definitely owe the fans an explanation. So we're going to have an intermission and I'm going to change, then come out as me." Miley looked at her watch. "Speaking of which, I've gotta go blonde and I told Becca I'd meet her and Gage at the guest entrance at 7:30. D'you guys think…."

"Hold the phone!" Lilly exclaimed. "Since when did you invite your ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend backstage?"

"Since this afternoon, when I went to the bathroom. Long story, but they're coming. But they can't see me until the intermission. I need you guys to keep them away from me _and_ Hannah. Please?"

"But that means we won't see you once you go get your face put on!" Oliver cried. Lilly and Miley both looked at him. He laughed nervously. "Okay, I sounded kinda like a girl there, didn't I." Lilly patted his shoulder.

"That's okay Ollie, you'll still be with me," Miley grimaced at Lilly's pet name. Lilly noticed and smirked. "No worries, _Hannah_, you won't see us 'till you're Miley again. Scout's honor." Miley nodded and noticed Jackson walking toward her with the Hannah wig in his hands. After a quick goodbye and good luck, Miley followed Jackson to where her make-up artist was waiting. It was time.

--------

**next chapter: the concert!!**


	17. Chapter 17

It's time to open your eyes  
And wake up to the morning  
Today calls out your name  
And I can never be the same

-New Found Glory

Chasing Fire: Chapter 17

Miley was already blonde when she heard a knock on her dressing room door. Jackson, who was lounging on the sofa, grumbled as he rolled off and opened the door.

"Pretty boy's here," he announced to the room at large. Miley looked at the woman doing her makeup, who smiled knowingly and left with a wink. Jake entered the room with a bouquet of flowers and looked at Jackson, who was standing by the door with his arms crossed.

"Get out!" Miley yelled at him, throwing her hairbrush. Jackson scowled at her, shot a warning glare at Jake, and left, shutting the door rather forcefully behind him. Miley rolled her eyes.

"I brought flowers," Jake said, coming over and kissing her on her temple. Miley felt her annoyance with her brother, and her slight panic with her upcoming debut, vanish.

"You're sweet," she said, smiling up at him. He put the flowers on the countertop then handed her a film reel. "What's this?"

"I made it for you." Miley raised her eyebrow at him, and he laughed. "Okay, okay, I had some help."

"But what _is_ it?" she asked.

"It's a movie: meet Miley Stewart. Oliver and Lilly came up with the idea to use Oliver's footage of you over the years to make a movie, and I thought that we could use it on the background screen tonight…" he trailed off, waiting for her reaction. She was just looking at him with her mouth slightly open. "Miley?" Still nothing. "We don't have to use it, you can even just use it for yourself if you want, or…" Miley put a finger to his lips, silencing him.

"I think that it's a great idea. Have you talked to my dad about it?" Jake opened his mouth to answer and Miley rushed on, "It doesn't have any embarrassing moments on it, right? Not me tripping up stairs or anything?" Jake laughed.

"No, nothing like that, and your dad thinks it's a great idea. I just have to give him this soon-the opening act is going to start any minute now." On cue, the sounds of her opening band (booked at the last minute, and pretty good) started coming in through the doors. Jake smiled and leaned down for a kiss. Pulling back, he traced her jaw line and said, "You are going to be _amazing_ tonight, Miles. They're going to love you." One more quick kiss and he was out the door. As her makeup artist and Jackson came back into the room (Jackson shooting a suspicious look after Jake), Miley could only hope that he was right.

………………………….

After getting her makeup on and warming up her voice, Miley was only waiting for a set change to go on. She stood, shifting her weight back and forth with her dancers, waiting for her cue. The opening band was nodding at her as they passed backstage, and the lead guitarist gave her a big grin and two thumbs up. Miley knew that he meant the crowd was ready to rock, but she saw Jake glaring at the guy in jealousy and she giggled. She was singing a lot of her older songs tonight, on the suggestion of her father. Not that she disagreed with him. Her songs off her new album would be premiering in Denver.

"Laaaaaadies and gentlemen!" Miley took a deep breath, her nerves giving way to the excitement of going on stage. "Lets give a Staples Center welcome to Miss Hannah Montana!!" The crowd screamed. Miley accepted her mic from her dad and ran on stage.

"Hello LA! You ready to rock?!" She looked out over the sea of faces, screaming their heads off, and felt their excitement. "Let's hit it guys!" she yelled, and her bad started their first song, _We Got the Party_. She was elated, in her element, and she felt free. She was born to sing and dance-both felt as natural as breathing. As she sung through _Bigger Than Us_, _Nobody's Perfect_, and _Right Here_ ([I know it's a Miley song, but pretend it's Hannah's), she noticed that the front of the crowd seemed to include a lot of her classmates and other people she knew. Probably her dad's finagling. She picked out Amber and Ashley (dead center, of course), and made it a point to reach out and touch their hands. She nearly laughed as Amber freaked out and started shrieking, but managed to keep singing.

She performed a few more songs, and then finished off with the first of her two new songs, _As I Am_, which the audience LOVED.

After their song, Miley turned to the crowd.

"We're gonna take a short break now, but you_ wont _wanna miss the second half of the concert! You guys are AWESOME! Hannah Montana is OUT!!" As she ran off the stage, she could hear the crowd screaming. Miley ran straight to the dressing room, hurriedly changed her outfit and tore her wig off.

"Ow!!" She yelled as the wig caught on some of her real hair. The door burst open and Miley jumped, turning around too quickly. She lost her balance and fell to the floor.

"Who's there?!" Miley looked up from the floor and smiled at her long-time bodyguard.

"Just me, Roxy. My hair got caught in my wig!" Roxy put down her karate-chop arms and pulled Miley up from the floor, chortling. She took the wig from Miley's hand and began to disentangle it. There was a knock on the doorframe (Roxy had left it open as a line of retreat), which turned out to be Lilly. Miley looked behind her best friend, but couldn't see Gage or Becca.

"They're with Oliver," Lilly said, seeing Miley's gaze.

"What's up?" Miley said. Roxy had disentangled the wig, and Miley motioned to the hairdresser to come in and start working on her 'wig-hair'.

"Just wanted to wish you luck," Lilly said. "Good luck!" and she was gone.

"I swear that girl gets weirder and weirder as the years go by," Roxy muttered under her breath as she left the room. Ten minutes later, Miley emerged. Her dad and Jake had been in to the dressing room and explained that Jake had made the movie to go with the song _Best of Both Worlds_, her first hit. She laughed and agreed to perform that one first.

Out in the stadium, the lights started to dim. The crowd started growing louder and louder. Miley closed her eyes, basking in the feeling of hundreds of voices combining into one mind. Her eyes snapped open, the lights focused in on the stage, and she took the offered mic from a stagehand. Now or never.

The drummer looked to Miley for the cue. One last breath, a nod, and the beat started up. She was positioned in the middle of the stage, with lights set up behind her, shining toward the audience. All they could see of her was her silhouette.

"I wanna thank y'all for coming out tonight!" She yelled as the music started. "You've been a great audience, now lets pick it up for the second half of the show!" Wild cheers met her yelling, and Miley started singing, noticing that one of the huge screens was starting to show a movie…

You get the limo out front  
Hottest styles, every shoe, every color

Miley started walking forward, picking out Amber and Ashley in the crowd (they were squinting against the bright lights, like everyone else). She wanted to see their faces when they recognized her.

Yeah, when you're famous it can be kinda fun  
It's really you but no one ever discovers

The lights behind her started to drop, and a spotlight snaked its way toward her.

In some ways you're just like all your friends  
But on stage you're a star

The spotlight found her, and suddenly Hannah Montana was no more. As Miley continued to sing, Amber noticed first and grabbed Ashley, who was jumping around like a maniac. Miley was then looking at twin expressions of disbelief.

Miley had never eyes so wide, except in a cartoon. While the muscles around their eyes were obviously working overtime to keep them open that wide, their jaw muscles went completely slack. Ashley's arm, which had been reaching out trying to touch her, didn't fall back to her side, even when she was jostled a bit by the people around her.

You get the best of both worlds  
Chill it out, take it slow  
Then you rock out the show

Miley crouched right in front of them, looked Amber straight in the eye, and winked. Amber opened and shut her mouth, looking like a fish out of water, and actually dropped her camera, which she'd been using the entire concert. With a smirk, Miley stood up and continued on.

You get the best of both worlds  
Mix it all together and you know that it's the best of both worlds  
The best of both worlds

She saw some of her classmates yelling to each other and gesturing madly in her direction, but other than that her fans were going crazy, dividing their attention between the stage and Miley. Miley felt her eyes drawn upward as well, but schooled herself to continue on as normal. After she finished _The Best of Both Worlds_, she paused for a second in her last pose, catching her breath as well as waiting for the crowd to settle down (which took a little while).

"So as most of you can see, tonight I thought I'd share with you my biggest secret." (the crowd roared) "Thank you, I love y'all so much!" (more cheering) "You all know me as Hannah Montana, but to friends and family, I'm just Miley Stewart." (screaming) "Just goes to show you that no matter who you are or where you're from, you can be anything you wanna be!" The band started into _Who Said_, and the whole stadium was on their feet, and stayed up for the rest of the concert. Miley thought that there would be a lot of people without voices in the morning.

Her second to last song was her second new song, _Good and Broken_ [a/n, my _favorite_ song on either album, which the crowd went nuts for. During the bridge, _everyone_ was jumping up and down (even Amber and Ashley, whom had re-animated after a song or two).

After the song was over, Miley grabbed a quick gulp of water off stage, flashing a grin towards where Gage and Becca were standing with Lilly, Oliver and Jake. Lilly mouthed, _awesome song_, and Oliver gave her thumbs up. Jake was grinning like a maniac, and Gage and Becca's expressions rivaled Amber and Ashley's for most humorous. Miley saluted them and ran out to her final song, _Life's What You Make It_. At the end of the song, Miley took a huge bow and everyone in the Staples Center screamed.

"Thank you all, goodnight Los Angeles!" She ran off the stage and straight into her father's arms, briefly registering the pandemonium backstage (caused by Lilly, Oliver, and a spare speaker).

"You did good tonight, bud," he said, relinquishing her to her friends. Miley pulled Lilly and Oliver into a hug together, then switched to Jake, clinging to him.

"I…you…her…," Gage said, pointing from Miley to the stage and back to Miley. Becca seemed at a loss for words, and Lilly gushed about the concert ("oh my GOD, only the best concert EVER!!"). Jake squeezed Miley's elbow.

"What?" she asked, looking at him? Jake pointed back to the stage.

"Listen." They all quieted, and then Miley heard it:

"Miley! Miley! Miley! Miley!…" the chant of the crowd –many people, one mind—made Miley bite her lip to keep the tears from her eyes. They wanted _her._


	18. Chapter 18

Very superstitious, wash your face and hands  
Rid me of the problem, do all that you can  
Keep me in a daydream, keep me goin' strong  
You don't wanna save me, sad is my song

-Stevie Wonder

Chasing Fire: Chapter 18

Miley didn't think she'd ever felt so happy, so _elated_. She'd rocked the Staples Center well past midnight, and only her dad's backstage reminder of her show in Denver had ended her performance. She'd followed Roxy through a crowd of screaming fans to the limo and found her friends waiting for her inside. She was currently collapsed into a seat, her eyes closed, still hearing the roar of the crowd and the thrum of the music through her whole body. 

She felt someone take her hand. She cracked an eye open and smiled, squeezing her hand around Jake's. He was looking at her in concern. She moved closer and he put his free arm around her while she snuggled into his shoulder, looking guiltily over to where Gage was sitting with Becca. Just a week ago, she'd been ditching school for him. Gage shrugged.

"What I don't get," Becca said, seeing the awkwardness starting to form, "is how no one saw it before? I mean, Hannah Montana has been around for _years_, you'd think someone would've noticed the similarities between the two of you. I don't see how _I_ didn't connect it!" Miley laughed.

"Yeah, well it helped that people saw Miley and Hannah in a completely different light. I mean, who would connect such a social reject with a pop star?"

"I don't know," Jake said in a teasing tone, "Hannah had her social reject moments…like that time you messed up the Teenie Awards with me…"

"…Or that time you were a green monster on television…"

"…how about when I handcuffed you and Lilly together and she had to be your arm for that interview…"

"Oo! And then there was your _spectacular_ showing at that diner place…"

"…and…"

"Okay! I get it!" Miley said, mock-glaring at her friends. Gage and Becca laughed, then Gage froze. Becca looked at him quizzically. 

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I DATED HANNAH MONTANA!" He burst out, staring at Miley, who felt herself turning red. Jackson glared at him, and Becca whacked him in the arm to Gage to snap him out of it. "Er…" he said. "Sorry, just hit me." Lilly and Becca both rolled their eyes at him, then Becca turned to address Jake.

"So you knew Miley was Hannah the whole time?"

"Actually, no. She told me after our first date. It shocked me at first, then it made sense because she was the only one at school who treated me like a normal human being."

"I was the first one to find out," Lilly said smugly. "I broke in to her dressing room after we'd been friends for a while and she was wearing the lucky bracelet that I'd given Miley earlier that day. I was angry at first that she'd lied to me, then she showed me her closet and it was all right."

"Closet?" Becca asked, confused. Miley rolled her eyes at her best friend.

"There's a secret closet in my house with all of my Hannah stuff in it: my clothes, shoes, wigs, guitars, you know, all that stuff." Becca's eyes shone. Gage noticed and redirected the conversation.

"Who found out next?"

"Oliver." Oliver had the good grace to blush slightly. Lilly giggled and poked him in the stomach.

"Yeah, remember in middle school when Oliver was _obsessed_ with Hannah Montana?" Miley asked. Gage nodded. "Well he was basically stalking me, so there was this whole thing where I, well, Hannah, tried to get him to not stand her…uh…me…and it didn't work, so I just told him."

"He fainted," Lilly said with glee.

"I _told_ you, I hadn't eaten much that day." Everyone laughed, Miley loudest of all.

* * *

After dropping everyone off at their respective houses, Miley and her dad made it back home. Roxy had apparently organized a guard around their house, which was good because a few people who knew Miley from school had pointed the paparazzi in the right direction Miley stepped out of the limo behind her dad and waved pleasantly before heading inside with Jackson. Behind her, she could hear her dad explaining that there would be an interview soon that would answer everyone's questions.

"Whoo, doggy, I'm sure glad I don't gotta wear that itchy mustache another minute!" Robbie Ray said as he closed the front door. Miley laughed and turned on the living room light. All three Stewarts froze at the sight before them.

Standing in the center of the room, with her arms crossed before her, was Ingrid. Her weight was all on one leg, and one foot was tapping on the floor. Her face was grim and her eyes narrowed at everyone. Robbie Ray lay one hand on each of his kid's shoulders and pushed them in the direction of the stairs. Miley moved right away, circling as far away from Ingrid as she could. Jackson cast a look at his father before following his sister. Both paused on the first landing of the stairs, just out of sight to listen to what was being said.

"So." Came Ingrid's voice, soft but venomous. "So." She repeated. There was a long pause, and then their father spoke.

"So, I want my ring back, you bear walker." Miley and Jackson looked at each other and stifled their laughter at their father's term for witch. They heard a stomp (presumably Ingrid's foot hitting the ground), and then Ingrid started on a twenty-minute tirade: calling their father all sorts of names. After yelling, they heard her stomp out the door and slam it behind her.

"All right, you can come on out, now," Robbie Ray called up the stairs. Jackson and Miley came down looking only slightly guilty, and his mouth turned up in a half smile.

"Well, that's all over with, then," he said, giving Miley a quick hug and ruffling Jackson's hair. "How about some loco hot cocoa, then bed?" He made his way to the kitchen and started preparing the hot cocoa. Taking her mug a few minutes later, Miley asked,

"Did she give you back your ring, daddy?"

"Nope. But I wouldn't worry about it too much."

"Why not?"

"Let's just say it's a good thing she didn't grow up around diamonds, or the glass might've given me away," he said, winking at her. Miley and Jackson both laughed. Sipping her dad's hot cocoa as she went up the stairs, Miley couldn't help but feel for the first time in a while, things were going to be all right. 

_Guess we'll find out in Denver tomorrow_, she thought to herself.

* * *

**So how did you like it? I'm thinking about changing the title, as it actually has nothing to do with the story anymore, any suggestions? The last few chapters are going to have a bit more time passing between them, just a heads up. **

**Next chapter: Denver, interviews, and school**.


	19. Chapter 19

Cruisin' down the center of a two way street  
Wond'rin' who is really in the driver's seat  
Mindin' my bus'ness along comes big brother  
Says, "Son, you better get on one side or the other."

-The Eagles

Chasing Fire: Chapter 19

Miley woke up Sunday feeling better than she had in a long time. She smiled into her pillow and stretched languidly. She didn't have to keep half her life secret anymore! Yeah, there was a downside, but she was finally free from any blackmail plan concocted by her almost-stepmother and her unpleasant progeny.

Looking at the clock on her bedside table, she noted that it was nearly noon-not surprising, since she'd been up so late the night before. What made her scowl was that her flight to Denver left in two hours. She took a quick shower, threw on some comfy travel clothes, and headed downstairs.

Her dad was sprawled on the couch in the living room, watching the television. Jackson was evidently still in bed. When she opened the fridge to get some juice, her dad looked up.

"Mornin' sweetheart," he drawled, giving her a smile. Miley took her glass of OJ and walked to the coach, taking a sip along the way. She nudged her father to one side of the couch and sat down at his feet, focusing on the TV. It was on a news channel, and it was playing short clips of her concert, as well as giving off basic facts about Miley Stewart, resident of Malibu, CA. Miley grinned when the thought came to her that she had turned normally reputable sources of news into gossip shows overnight. Then again, she _was_ Hannah Montana.

Little was said until Jackson came down an hour later, still looking ruffled and bleary-eyed.

"Hey Jackson!" Miley exclaimed, overly loud. "Fancy seeing you around here this early in the morning!" Jackson glared at her.

"For your information, I was up even later than you, telling my girlfriend of my relation to her idol. Why you'd be anyone's idol is still a mystery to me, but…" He trailed off, then grunted in protest as Miley hurled a pillow at him and he didn't dodge in time. Miley stuck her tongue out at him and he threw the pillow back, turning to grab some food from the kitchen.

"I swear, the older you kids get, the younger I feel," Robbie Ray said, getting up. "We've got to get ready to go to Denver, bud, and Jackson's gotta head on back to his lady friend." He winked at Miley, which Jackson caught. Miley laughed and headed upstairs, with her dad right behind her, as Jackson started talking/grumbling to the room at large.

Jackson looked up from his forage, noticed they weren't there anymore and shrugged, continuing on his quest.

* * *

After getting out of the house with minimal interaction with the press, the three Stewarts headed to the airport, where Miley and her dad would fly to Denver and Jackson would fly back to New York. He had procured a nice picture of his sister and had her sign the back of it as Miley Stewart, her first autograph as herself, to give to his girlfriend Nina. They had a brief goodbye before Jackson quietly left them to get on his own flight. Robbie Ray had booked a charter for their short flight to Denver. Miley caught some sleep in the air while her dad went over her concert lineup.

The Sunday night show was scheduled to start at six because it was a school night, but Miley predicted that it would be another late night for her. Well, she hoped that it would be another late night, anyway. She was a little nervous about how she would be received.

Pulling up in the limo, Miley noticed all the screaming fans and exhaled a breath she didn't know she was holding. She stepped out with her father, gave a little wave, and the crowd outside the theater went nuts, screaming her name (her _real_ name). She couldn't stop smiling when she was ushered inside, or when she did a quick sound check, or as she waited for the show to start. Totally relaxed, she played a game of gin rummy with her dancers (she actually won quite spectacularly), and then prepared to go on.

There was so much less primping to do, and for that, Miley was glad. She didn't have to "wiggify" herself, as Lilly called it, which normally took a great deal of time. She was sad that none of her friends would be there, but they'd be watching on their televisions, as it was a live broadcast.

She could imagine what they were doing right now. Lilly had probably invited Jake over to watch with her an Oliver, and Jake was probably regretting agreeing to watch with them. They were either squabbling over popcorn, or participating in barf-inducing PDA. Poor Jake.

Jake. Someone she felt incredibly, scarily close to, considering his role in her life. They had dated before, yes, and she'd actually come to call him 'Les' when there was no one around, but he'd hurt her by leaving and she'd taken to calling him Jake again. Her own willingness to take him back almost frightened her, but she felt that she'd made the right choice in the long run. _That movie of his better be good_, she thought to herself as Roxy ushered her toward the stage. Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the lights.

* * *

The last note of her scheduled concert ended and Miley wiped her brow, addressing the audience.

"I just want to say that I only have the _best_ fans ever!" she yelled at them. "Thank you so much for supporting me by coming here tonight! I'd love to stay and sing for y'all some more, but most of us have got school in the morning!" She got gales of laughter, then the crowd started to chant. She tilted her head to attempt to hear what they were saying. After a moment, she heard them:

"_One more! One more!_" Miley smiled

"I think we've got time for one more!" she said, motioning to the stage crew to bring her a headset. Attaching it quickly, Miley again addressed the crowd. "How about one of my new songs?" The crowd roared, and she launched in to _Good and Broken_. As it was definitely the last song (she could see her dad frowning at her stage left), Miley sang her heart out. As the music faded into nothing, she thanked the audience again and ran offstage, grinning cheekily at her dad, who threw his hands up in defeat. Behind her, the stage lights went off and the theater lights went on.

The minute she was in her dressing room, Miley's cell went off. She glanced at the caller ID, and, seeing that it was Lilly, she picked up. Her friends were on speakerphone, and all put in a few good words about the concert. Her dad knocking on her doorway and reminding her of school the next day stopped her conversation, and she just told them she'd see them in the morning.

Miley was still too pumped up from her concert to sleep on the flight back, so she settled with annoying her dad as much as she could. He tried ignoring her at first, repositioning his seat, but eventually gave up and joined in her impromptu dance party.

They got back to their house without any trouble around three, and Miley forced herself to go to bed. After lying there for a minute, she drifted off.

* * *

**a/n I know I said that more would happen in this chapter, but it's kind of late and I have mono, so I'll post again when I wake up some more. Ciao!-C**


	20. Chapter 20

And might it uproot every lie  
And force us all to cower  
Beneath this tremendous weight  
In the wake of all its power

-Cartel

Chasing Fire: Chapter 20

The clock on her bedside table was blaring Goo Goo Dolls. Miley groaned and read the numbers. 6:30 am. She groaned and hit the snooze button, promptly drifting back to her dream. Twenty minutes later, her dad was shaking her awake.

"Your clock woke me up down the hall," he said as Miley swatted him away. "You really need to get up or you'll be late to school." Miley cracked an eye open and glared at her alarm clock.

"Curse you, time," she mumbled, rolling off the side of her bed, landing on all fours on the floor. Her dad arched his eyebrow at her in amusement, then headed back down to his room. _Curse you, school_, Miley thought, dragging herself to her dresser. She decided to dress in something a little more 'Hannah' today, since there were probably going to be cameras swarming the campus.

Stumbling through getting ready for school, Miley tried to wake herself up as much as possible. Glancing in the mirror as she ran out the door with a piece of toast in one hand and her book bag in another, she thought she'd done a fair job. She saw several people snap to attention as she walked out the door. Photographers, of course. She'd have to get used to their 24/7 presence, now that Hannah couldn't disappear as Miley. She gave them a little wave as Roxy herded her into an idling car.

The ride to school was relatively quiet, but as soon as they pulled up to the curb, the car was surrounded by cameras. Miley bit her lip, a little apprehensive about what to do, but then Jake was there, opening the door for her. She smiled gratefully at him and took his hand, then pulled him into a tight hug.

Reporters were screaming above each other to ask them questions, but they both just smiled and entered the high school where, they were relieved to find out, the principal had banned photographers of any sort.

"Well, that was different," Miley said dryly as she pulled Jake toward her locker. He chuckled softly. There were a surprising number of students on time today, Miley noted. They were all staring at her, too.

"You'd think they'd be used to having a celebrity in school and would know how to act," she muttered.

"I've been here on and off for a few years, and I never hid who I was-"

"_Sure_, _Leslie_," she said.

"—okay, well, I did last week, but the point is they've almost always recognized me as Jake Ryan, famously good-looking teen acting sensation—."

"I knew it was impossible to completely deflate your head." Jake paused to roll his eyes.

"You, however, are an unknown. To everyone, you're merging two completely different personalities into one, and I don't think they know how to handle that."

"He's right, you know," said someone behind them. Startled, Miley jumped and stood face-to-face with Amber. She wanted to smack her head against a wall, but then people would think she was insane. The whispers that had started the moment Miley walked in the door completely stopped as everyone looked to see what would happen between the two girls. Miley dropped Jake's hand and stepped toward Amber, who, for once, was without her little posse.

Amber looked as if she hadn't slept in a while: her makeup was slightly smudged, her clothes were almost not matching, and her hair was slightly frazzled. In short, she suddenly seemed less than perfect. Miley waited for her to elaborate.

"Everyone here is too boring to see you for who you really are, Hannah, and they keep thinking of how you've been acting like such a…"

"It wasn't an act, and my name is Miley." And she turned and walked away, turning slightly and calling back behind her, "Let's get to class, Les." He looked shocked for a moment, then grinned and hurried to catch up to her, feeling utterly elated.

* * *

The rest of the day, whispers followed Miley through the school. She supposed that it was better than people constantly hounding her for information, but still, she wished they'd just get over the scandal and act normally around her again. When she caught up to Lilly and Oliver, they both looked flustered, so she assumed (correctly, she found out later) that they were fielding the majority of the questions about her. At lunch, she turned on her Hannah phone to discover that her dad had set up an interview for her directly after school. The interview would air on the evening news.

After last bell, Miley, Jake, Lilly, and Oliver left the school to find Mr. Stewart waiting out front to drive them to the studio. Her three friends waited patiently as she was primped for the interview, for the first time as Miley and not Hannah Montana.

"Hey, Miles," her dad called from where he was speaking with the journalist. "What do you want Mr. Emerson to address you as?" Miley hid a wince as her hair was pulled a tad too hard.

"I guess Miley, that's my name." Her dad nodded once and addressed the man briefly before walking over to where Miley was getting out of her chair.

"They also want to know if they can interview your friends?" Miley glanced over to where they were standing.

"I guess that'd be up to them," she answered. She was slightly relieved that all of them agreed and that they would all be talking together, plus her dad. In no time, they were all seated in front of a bunch of cameras, ready to start filming. Lilly looked faintly uncomfortable at the attention that she was getting, seated right beside Miley, but Oliver, on her other side, took her hand in support and she relaxed. Jake was on Miley's other side, and her dad was next to him.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," the journalist, Mr. Emerson, began. "I'm here in the studio with Miley Stewart, otherwise known as Hannah Montana, to discuss recent events.

"Miss Stewart, I think the main question most of our viewers are wondering is: How did Hannah Montana come about?" Miley smiled.

"When my dad first introduced me to a few of his friends in the recording business, and when they signed me, I wanted to keep my life relatively the same. I loved all of my friends and family, and didn't want them to treat me any differently because I was doing what I loved. My mom was actually the one to come up with the idea originally when I told her about how worried I was that my friends wouldn't treat me the same. Then we decided as a family to go ahead with it."

"Was it hard to adjust to all the attention you were getting?"

"At first, it was really intimidating. But being able to take a step back and be myself really helped. When I lived in Tennessee, none of my friends knew about my career, and that was difficult, but then I moved to Malibu and after a few years everyone I cared about knew my secret. They're always there when I need to talk." Miley turned and smiled at Lilly.

"If you don't mind my asking, how did they find out?"

"Well, before they knew, Lilly and Oliver were HUGE fans of mine, which was kinda awkward at the lunch table. Then Lilly got tickets to my concert and asked me to go with her…" Miley told the story about how Lilly found out, earning a chortle and a raised eyebrow from the journalist. After she was done, Mr. Emerson turned to Lilly.

"How did you feel about Miley keeping a secret like that from you?"

"Well, at first I was really mad, but not for very long. Then she showed me her closet and we were best friends again."

"Her closet?" Lilly nodded.

"Yeah, she has this _amazing_ closet full of all her Hannah clothes, it was _the_ coolest thing I'd ever seen, so I forgave her." She turned to Miley. "Sorry, Miles, guess you'll have to put a video of your closet on YouTube now." Miley rolled her eyes.

"And Oliver?" the journalist turned to him. "How did you find out that your friend was Hannah Montana?" Oliver blushed and stuttered through the embarrassing events that led to him finding out about Miley, with occasional input from his girlfriend. Miley found her relaxing around the journalist- he was friendly and didn't ask too many uncomfortable questions. After talking to Robbie Ray, he turned to Jake.

"So tell us a little about your relationship with Miley." Jake smiled and took Miley's hand.

"When I first showed up at school, I didn't know about Miley being Hannah Montana. I actually didn't know for a while. She caught my attention because she didn't treat me like anyone I'd ever encountered before. With her, I felt like she was seeing the real me. She was actually my first non-movie kiss. After our first date, she told me her secret, which made me realize why she treated me the way she did. It also explained why Hannah Montana disliked me so much."

"I'm sorry, disliked?" Miley laughed and cut it.

"I thought he was a stuck-up, arrogant, self-centered jerk with an inflated head, and at school that's how I treated him. When we filmed Zombie High together, he still didn't know my secret, so Hannah treated him kinda the same. But then, on the set, he actually acted a little different from what I was used to, and…." The interview continued for nearly an hour, covering most major questions people were having. Mr. Emerson concluded by asking what she was going to do about her up-coming album ("Nothing-it'll still be released as Hannah Montana"), and also the Zombie High Movie ("She'll be credited as Miley Stewart, but still play a blonde Zerronda"). Then he thanked them all for coming, and they left the studio.

Miley was relieved that the process was over with. She knew it wasn't the end of it, but hopefully a lot of people would see where she was coming from, wanting a normal life and all. The interview aired on the seven o'clock news, and Miley watched it with her friends and dad (Jake was careful not to invade her space too much, as sitting too close to her still brought out a glare from Robbie Ray). They ordered pizza, and then popped in a movie before everyone else headed home. It was getting late, so Miley called out a goodbye to her dad and headed upstairs for bed.

Entering her room, she threw her book bag near her desk and made her way over to her dresser in the darkness, not bothering with the light. She pulled open the drawer and started to pull out some bedclothes when a hand clamped over her mouth from behind. Startled, Miley kicked out and connected with the dresser. As her eyes started to water, an iron arm closed around her stomach, drawing her toward a decidedly male body. A whisper in her ear made her stop struggling.

"You think you can get rid of me that easily?" Miley tried to scream as a third arm pressed a cloth to her nose. Something sickly-sweet assaulted her senses, and she knew no more.

* * *

**A/n: So I've still got mono (yes, the **_**kissing**_** disease, haha), but figured I'd try and get this out. Let me know what you think, next chapter will be out quicker, I promise, especially if I get lots of reviews :o)**


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: Thanks to all who wished me well! Since I'm officially home again, and figured there's nothing worse than an unfinished story. I missed a bunch of new episodes (everything since May), and the new album, so this is not up to date. Maybe when I finish I'll go back and edit some parts : ). And thanks to my little sister for everything!

So far, this is a **recap**:

-Miley is in senior year, decides to bring out Hannah Montana after learning that Ingrid, her dad's girlfriend, is blackmailing him to marry her. Her son, Tim, is abusive and cruel. Jake has come back, and helps her so-called coming out on stage at the Staple's Center in LA. After her next concert in Denver, where for the first time she sings an entire concert as herself, she gets attacked in her room and blacks out. Wow…sorry for leaving everyone with that huge cliffie!!

As always, nothing is mine!

-C

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I'm so mad at you right now  
I can't even find the words  
And you're on the way down  
I can't wait to see you burn

-The Veronicas

Chasing Fire: Chapter 21

Miley woke up to darkness. For a disorienting moment, she thought that she was on stage and the lights were about to go on, then reality crept in and she realized that no one was screaming. She sat up suddenly, slightly panicking, but sank quickly back to the floor as a wave of dizziness hit her. She was confused, hungry, and had a throbbing headache.

_What's going on?_ She wondered, trying all her limbs to find them fully functional and unbound. _Unbound?_ Her pulse sped up. _Someone was in my room!_

Miley vaguely remembered someone grabbing her and pressing something over her mouth and nose. _Must've knocked me out!_ She thought. _Where am I?_ Miley sat up more slowly and experienced only a little lightheadedness. She cocked her head to the side to try and get some clue as to where she was. Silence. She took a deep breath and tried not to freak out.

Twenty minutes later, she determined that she was in some sort of basement. She'd crawled on her hands and knees until she hit a concrete wall and had followed it in a square, only bumping into what she assumed were oil tanks or boilers in one corner. She was currently feeling her way up some stairs. She was halfway up when suddenly the door at the top of the stairs opened, blinding her. She quickly clamped a hand over her eyes.

"Well, lookie, lookie! Miss Hannah Montana is awake!!" Miley grimaced as her almost-stepbrother's voice came from the head of the stairs. Tim. Of course. She took a deep breath and gathered her courage.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked, trying to keep the shaking in her voice to a minimum. There was hardly any waver, but her voice sounded weak nonetheless. She shaded her eyes against the light streaming in from the top of the stairs. She tried to see the expression on Tim's face, but he was in shadow with the light behind him.

He didn't answer her question. Instead, he just laughed maniacally and shut the door, sending her into darkness again. Miley heard a lock click into place. She sighed and slid down the stairs again. If he opened the door again he'd have to come down into the darkness to find her. She could make it work. There was no way she was letting him overpower her ever again.

.*.*.

Miley was left alone for a long time. So long that she began to drift in and out of sleep, waking at the smallest noises; the sound of footsteps overhead, a steady drip in one corner of the basement. She supposed that it was a good thing. _ If they leave me down here a long time, at least I'll have something to drink._ The thought came when she was half-asleep, and she crinkled her nose in disgust. The drip could be from the sewage system, for all she knew. It was because of this thought that she was awake when the basement door opened again. She instantly tensed as a shadow started down the stairs.

She'd taken up a place under the stairs, figuring that she'd be out of line of sight of the door if someone came down when she was asleep, and the clomping of feet would wake her in time in case Tim tried anything. The light from the door also revealed something else. There was space between the stairs, and she could see Tim's ankles as they descended cautiously.

The last of her dizziness from whatever they'd (because there _had_ been a second person in her bedroom, she remembered) drugged her with had faded, so when she stood up, she no longer felt the disorientation. She _was_ hungry, tired, and thirsty though, so she was weaker than she normally would be.

It didn't matter. Her hand shot out, grabbing the bottom of his baggy jeans. He uttered a soft cry of surprise and fell the rest of the way down the stairs. It wasn't far, not even five steps, and she hadn't expected him to stay down once at the bottom. But he did, in a crumpled heap that she glared at for a good few moments before moving toward the base of the stairs. Halfway up, she paused to let her eyes adjust to the light and to listen to the sounds of the rest of the house. Nothing but silence.

She heard a groan from behind her and scrambled the rest of the way up. At least she knew that he wasn't dead now. She got the top and after a quick look around, swung the door shut and locked it. Heart pounding, she tried to recognize her surroundings. She was in a green-painted room, decorated with black checked couches and a television set. There was an end table with a picture of a man she didn't recognize on it. To her right, a door led into a kitchen, and beyond the kitchen…_Traffic_.

Miley rushed toward the exit, and stepped out into a warm California evening. She didn't waste any time making her way toward the road. She hadn't walked more than a few steps before a shrill voice called out,

"Look, mommy! It's Hannah Montana!" She turned toward the voice and saw a girl tugging a middle-aged woman by the hand and pointing at her. The woman was frowning at her daughter, and then took in Miley's disheveled appearance. "They said on the news that she was missing!" The girl said. The mother's eyes widened.

"Are you Han-Miley Stewart?" she asked in concern. Miley nodded. She wanted to cry in relief.

"Please. Do you have a phone I could use?" she needed to call her dad. He'd be beside himself with worry. The woman nodded, fishing in her pocket with her free hand and pulling out a cell phone. She handed it over. Miley punched in her home number.

Her dad answered on the first ring. His typical hello sounded tense and strange. Miley paused.

"Daddy?"

"Miley! Where are you? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I'm borrowing a cell right now, and I'm…" She looked around for a clue as to where she was, and then at the mother, questioning.

"Sacramento," the woman supplied. Miley blinked.

"In Sacramento," she said slowly in slight disbelief.

"Okay, bud. Don't move-they're tracing the location of the call, they'll have the police come to get you. Oh, Miles, are you sure you're all right?" His tone of concern sent her over the edge and she started to cry. She was attracting a small crowd now, and Miley shrank back, handing the phone to the woman, who took it and started speaking rapidly into it.

"Hello? This is Peggy Walker, we found your daughter right here on the street…no, she doesn't look harmed…a bit rumpled, yes. My Sarah recognized her on our way to the..." Mrs. Walker started firing off directions to their location, looking in concern at Miley. Miley took a couple of deep breaths to compose herself, wiped her tears and looked at the girl.

"Thank you," she said. The girl, _Sarah, her name is Sarah_, frowned at her.

"Are you going to be okay?" Miley managed a smile and a terse nod.

"I'll survive." And she would

.*.*.

She'd only been found for a couple of hours, and was resting in a hospital bed (private room, of course, once the word got out that Miley Stewart alias Hannah Montana was in a hospital in Sacramento), when they burst through the door. Her dad came in first, followed closely by Lilly, Oliver, and Jake. Her dad looked older than she'd ever seen him, but that could've been because he hadn't done his hair up in a while (the first thing she said to him after things calmed down a bit). They all touched her, making sure she was all right, making sure she was really there.

"I'm okay, guys," she said. They backed off a little, giving her breathing room, though Jake kept her hand in his.

"We were so worried!" Lilly sobbed, leaning on Oliver for support. He nodded somberly, biting his lip. Miley knew that Lilly had probably been tense the entire ride to Sacramento, not willing to believe that they'd found her friend until she saw Miley with her own eyes. Miley smiled at them all. Her family. Things would be all right

.*.*.


End file.
